It Happened One Night
by J Unleashed
Summary: Too much alcohol can cause people to do things they wouldn't do normally... as Kirishima and Suoh discovered. *Part 2*- Kirishima's inability to sleep begins to jeopardize his job, and another break-in occurs at one of Sion's warehouses... and where the hell did Suoh go? (seme x seme)
1. Chapter 1

___All characters from the Viewfinder Series are the property of Yamane Ayano or that of her publishers/subsidiaries. No profit is made from this fanfiction. ___

* * *

_(This a Kirishima/Suoh fiction. You have been warned.)_

_This is a spin-off from something I did titled: "A Questionable Viewfinder Meeting", where the characters responded to questions/comments from real fans. One question to Kirishima and Suoh was: "Do you ever socialize together outside of work?" The answer was "no", but Suoh made a vague reference to something that happened in Brazil._

_Well, this is what happened in Brazil._

**. . **

**. . . . .**

It was a rare trip out of the country. A rather unusual trade deal led Asami and seven of his best men to a remote area in a small country in South America. The first part of the trip was extremely stressful. Though Asami and the South American capo seemed to get along fine, the capo's gang members and Asami's men stayed tense throughout the visit. Both sides thought the other side was unstable and might start firing their weapons at any moment. After a long week, the bosses finally came to an agreement, shook hands, and the transaction ended peacefully and profitably for everyone.

Asami was pleased that it had all gone so well and was particularly happy with the professionalism shown by his men, despite the rough conditions in the war-torn village. He rented a private island that was located somewhere just off the shore of Brazil. It came with a cruiser that could ferry them between the island and the mainland.

Kirishima left for a few hours and then came back with Takaba Akihito in tow. The men were surprised to see that the young photographer had been flown in because their boss never allowed Takaba to be anywhere near anything having to do with their underworld activities. Then again, it was true the transaction was now complete and Asami had rented the island to give them a place to unwind. Apparently, the crime lord felt a little unwinding was due for himself as well.

The question of how they were going to handle the awkward presence of their boss and Takaba staying in the same bungalow was answered by the sudden appearance of a state-of-the-art luxury yacht. Suoh was present during the discussion that Asami had with Kirishima about it.

"I can use the cruiser to take the night watch."

"You don't need to do that," Asami told him. "There's a proximity warning system on board the yacht."

"I'll do it anyway, just as an added precaution."

Asami spoke in a calm but commanding voice. "You're taking the night off, and the next day as well. Go ashore and do some sightseeing. Actually, I don't care what the hell you do, but you're officially on vacation."

"But I'm..."

Asami looked at his watch, "On vacation, as of now." Asami pointed out toward the ocean. "I'm going to anchor us just over there. You'll be able to look out and see the yacht from here."

Kirishima nodded. "I understand, sir." Asami turned and walked toward the dock where the yacht was moored.

Kirishima watched Asami walk away. Suoh noticed a look of worry and concern on Kirishima's face.

"He's a big boy, Kirishima. He can take care of himself," Suoh teased, trying to break the tension.

"I KNOW THAT!" Kirishima angrily snapped at him.

Suoh was surprised by Kirishima's sharp response. They had always worked so well together, one seeming to be the extension of the other. There had never before been a disagreeable word between the two of them.

Kirishima had been constantly at Asami's side during the whole South American deal. Suoh knew he had been under tremendous pressure, between assisting in the negotiations and having to be ready in a split second to protect their boss if things were to suddenly go bad. It seemed Kirishima was unable to shake off the tension from the intensified responsibility.

"Stand down, Kirishima!" Suoh growled at him. "You heard the boss! I will literally drag your ass to shore if that's what it takes!"

Kirishima took a deep breath and sighed. Suoh was relieved to see his colleague's posture relax a little. A slight smile appeared on Kirishima's face. "You know I'm capable of taking down someone of your size."

Suoh knew this wasn't an idle boast. Even though Suoh had his incredible size and strength, Kirishima proved to be more wily and agile when it came to hand-to-hand combat.

Suoh grinned. "That has yet to be proven. Come on, we're all going to jump on the cruiser to go to shore. You're coming with us."

Kirishima shook his head. "I'll be able to relax better if I can stay close by. You know that."

Suoh did indeed know that. If he forced Kirishima to leave the island, he knew Kirishima's stress would just exponentially increase.

"You're hopeless," Suoh told him, rolling his eyes.

**. . . . .**

The men had a fantastic time in town. They saw the sights, did some shopping, ate some good food, and took lots of pictures. A few of the men attempted to pick up the local girls, but only one of them- a man called Mayeda- was successful. He disappeared and didn't meet them for dinner. In fact, he nearly missed the boat that was supposed to take them back to the island.

It was very late when they returned. Kirishima greeted the boat and helped them carry the many purchases they had brought back. Suoh was surprised to see Kirishima in casual clothing. He was wearing shorts and a short-sleeved collared shirt.

Suoh grinned at the sight. It was the first time he had ever seen Kirishima with any part of his arms or legs exposed. _Who knew Kirishima had a nice physique under all that business attire?_

They unloaded some of the bags in the kitchen. One had food, and the other three contained various bottles of liquor. "I can see where your priorities are," Kirishima commented to the men, his lip quirking up in a smirk. They laughed back at him good-naturedly.

"I have a great recipe for a drink," said one of the men named Chiba. He found a pitcher in one of the cabinets and began opening bottles and pouring in different liquors. "You'll like this, Kirishima. I call it, 'Nerve Gas'."

Kirishima watched what was being added to the pitcher and shuddered. Whoever drank that concoction was going to be regretting it later. "No thanks, I'm going to pass. Have fun with that." He walked back outside to check on the yacht again.

**. . . . .**

A couple of hours later, Kirishima was leaning up against a palm tree and gazing at the yacht that was anchored off shore. It was lit up well enough that he could tell there was someone standing on the deck, smoking a cigarette. A smaller figure appeared and stood next to the taller one. Kirishima knew they were just fine, and he would have retired earlier if it hadn't been for the raucous noise and laughter coming from inside the bungalow. He could hear the drunken party from all the way out where he was standing. He would wait until they quieted down before trying to head to bed.

He heard the creaking sound of the bungalow door opening and closing, and then someone stumbling through the vegetation. He turned around to see who it might be but couldn't see anyone in the darkness. There was a cool, pleasant breeze this evening, so he figured it was someone coming out to enjoy the night air. He turned to look back at the yacht and saw that the two figures appeared to be embracing. Despite his distance, Kirishima politely averted his eyes and looked at the full moon that was rising on the horizon. The bungalow had gotten quieter, so Kirishima decided to head back to try to get some sleep.

The quiet of the night was disturbed by the sound of retching. Kirishima turned and followed the source of the sound until he came upon someone on their hands and knees, vomiting. He saw that it was Nakano, who at the age of 20 was the youngest employee of the Sion Group. He had shown a lot of potential in his first few months working for them, so they had brought him along for his "apprenticeship".

"Have a little too much to drink?" Kirishima smiled wryly.

Nakano lifted his head up and looked at Kirishima with a miserable expression on his face before bending back down and retching again. Kirishima knelt down and gently rubbed the young man's back until the heaving ceased.

He helped Nakano to sit up on a fallen tree trunk. "Are you all right now?"

Nakano nodded shakily. "Yeah. I actually feel much better. I guess I'm the big loser of the night."

"Loser?"

"Yes... of that drinking game we've been playing."

"You should know better than to go up against that lot." Kirishima put his hand out. "Let me help you walk back." He pulled Nakano up and then put his arm around the young man to steady him as they walked toward the bungalow.

And that was the last thing Kirishima could remember about that night.

**. . . . .**

Kirishima felt himself being jolted awake. "Hey, Kirishima... you still alive?"

He opened his eyes and saw someone standing over him. From the slightly blurry, petite outline, he knew it was Yamato. Kirishima sat up and felt his head pounding. "Where are my glasses?"

"Kirishima's glasses... who knows where they are?" He heard some grunting and a general shuffling around until someone said, "Here they are." Yamato handed him his glasses. Kirishima slipped them on and then took a look around.

The room was trashed. Drinking glasses, liquor bottles, and half-eaten bowls of snacks littered the room. The pillows from the sofa were scattered on the floor, and he could see two more men stirring on the ground as Yamato nudged them awake. "Hey, Mayeda! Go to your room and sleep it off."

"I'm awake," Mayeda groaned.

Kirishima discovered he had fallen asleep in an overstuffed chair. He stood up slowly and then went outside.

The bright sun was blinding. It caused his headache to flare up so badly that it even made his jaw throb. Kirishima had to seek out some shade to make it easier for his eyes adjust. He finally was able to focus on the yacht. He saw one lone figure standing against the railing in the morning sun, holding something up to his face. Kirishima guessed it to be a camera. The figure turned toward him, and then lowered the object and waved at him.

_They're fine._ He turned back around and returned to the bungalow.

Upon entering, he smelled and heard the sound of cooking. He saw Suoh frying up eggs in the small kitchen. He walked over and began helping him.

"Don't fix me anything... I'm not eating," moaned another one of their men, by the name of Oda, who was still lying on the floor.

Kirishima carried plates to the table and then discovered there was no place to put them because of the mess. "Everybody is going to eat, including you. It will make you feel better." He looked around at the men. "Clear off this table..." he stopped suddenly, concerned. "Where is Nakano?"

"I'm here!" said a cheerful voice. He turned around and saw Nakano walk into the room. He was looking fresh from a shower. "I'll help you."

Kirishima thought he looked a lot better than he did the night before. He furrowed his brow trying to remember what happened after he helped the sick Nakano back to the bungalow, but his memory was totally blank.

Chiba also helped clear off the table, rubbing his head in pain every once in awhile. "I must have had a helluva lot to drink last night because I can't seem to remember a damn thing!"

"Me either," said Oda. "I'd love to hear about it, if anyone can remember. Someone enlighten me."

They all shrugged. Kirishima glanced over at Suoh. Kirishima had heard that Suoh was legendary for drinking anyone under the table. Kirishima was certain he could remember everything, but Suoh kept his expression impassive.

_So... he's not willing to volunteer any information._

Yamato grinned, "I remember Nakano getting sick! And I think Mayeda may have told us about his date with that Brazilian girl...?"

"Calisto," Mayeda answered him. "I remember someone winning a bet. Was it you Suoh?"

Suoh grunted without answering clearly.

"And..." Mayeda added, "I think someone here admitted to being gay."

"Oh bullshit, Mayeda!" said Chiba. "Someone..." He rolled his eyes.

Mayeda laughed. "Well I know it wasn't me! Maybe it was you, Chiba."

"No way! Not me. I wouldn't trust your alcoholic-hazed memory anyway."

Despite that statement, everyone glanced around at each other.

Finally, after the table had been cleaned off and set, all seven men sat down to eat. When Kirishima sat down, he noticed his shorts felt uncomfortable. He stood up, reached into his pocket and pulled out a huge wad of cash. He put the pile on the table and then sat back down, staring at it.

Oda grinned. "Well, at least we know who won the bet now. So, what was the bet about, Kirishima?"

"I haven't a clue," Kirishima frowned, rubbing his jaw. It was extremely sore. "Did one of you guys punch me in the jaw?"

Nakano burst out laughing and then covered his mouth, embarrassed.

Oda shouted out, "Nakano knows! You know what happened last night, don't you?"

"No! I'm just like you! I don't remember anything," Nakano protested.

"You liar!" Mayeda grinned. "You puked up all the alcohol you drank, that's why you aren't hungover. Come on, tell us!"

Nakano turned nervously to Suoh. "Suoh remembers everything... don't you, Suoh?"

"Yeah, I remember."

Kirishima sat back. "Well, let's hear it then."

"I don't think so." Suoh shoveled a forkful of eggs into his mouth.

Kirishima growled irritably, "Suoh, I'd like to know, please."

Suoh glanced up and looked Kirishima directly in the eyes. "Kirishima, trust me. You WANT to let this one go."

"OH come on! Now I REALLY want to know!" wailed Mayeda.

Kirishima turned to the young Nakano and glared at him. "You'll tell me."

Nakano looked at Suoh questioningly.

Suoh stared at Kirishima thoughtfully for a moment, and then smirked, "Go on then, Nakano. Do as he says."

Suoh settled back in his seat, with a look of unease on his face.

**. . . . . **

**. .**

__Related: "A Questionable Viewfinder Meeting" [May 2014]__


	2. Chapter 2

**.**

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**. . . . . **

Nakano asked if it was okay if he ate his breakfast first while it was still warm.

It was decided they would all finish breakfast, then those who needed it could shower, shave, and change clothes before meeting at the covered patio that was just outside the front of their place.

After they all got cleaned up, the men made their way out to sit at the table on the covered porch. Suoh pulled Kirishima aside before he could walk out.

"These are all good men here," Suoh spoke in a quiet voice. "They're hardworking... unquestionably loyal... and very trustworthy. None of them would ever hesitate to put their own lives on the line for the boss, or for each other... just like you and me."

"I'm fully aware of this," Kirishima said. "It's not necessary to point that out."

"Just keep that in mind, no matter what you hear about what happened last night. Also keep in mind that drinking a lot of alcohol can cause people to lose their inhibitions and act out."

Kirishima replied, slightly annoyed, "I get it. After a high-stress mission the men got drunk, acted out, and probably did something out of line. You're not telling me anything surprising, Suoh."

"You did too, Kirishima."

"I did something out of line?" Kirishima raised his eyebrows, surprised. "I can't imagine what that might have been." He smiled and then patted Suoh on the shoulder. "Well, I can't wait to hear about it." He pushed past Suoh and walked out the door to the porch.

Suoh shook his head. "I don't think you're going to be very happy about it."

**. . . . . **

Once they all were seated, Nakano asked someone for a cigarette. Chiba gave him one and lit it for him.

Nakano drew off of it and expelled a heavy cloud of smoke.

"After what we've been through this week, I've begun to think of all of you like my family. I never expected my co-workers to be so... close and caring toward each other. What happened last night... it's something that should strictly stay between those of us here. You HAVE to agree to this or else this conversation stops right now. Kirishima, Yamato, and Mayeda would stand to lose face the most if this were to become common gossip."

They all nodded.

"Me?!" Mayeda looked bewildered.

Nakano smiled. "What you did was actually kind of funny. You'll be embarrassed for sure, but I know you. You'll just laugh about it later."

Yamato nodded. "I think I have a good idea what mine's all about. Hopefully, you'll tell me that I just blurted something out about my personal life, but that I didn't do anything..."

Nakano blushed furiously.

Yamato sucked in his breath. "Oh shit..." He sunk down in his seat. "Um, I'd like to profusely apologize to everybody in advance..."

Kirishima glanced at Suoh who was staring down at the table. "Well, whatever I did, it must have been rather bad," Kirishima smiled. "Suoh here, won't even look me in the eyes," he teased.

Suoh glanced up at him, looked at him directly in the eyes and smiled back, "Don't worry, I still have the highest respect for you." Then he smirked, "Actually, even more now... after last night."

Kirishima's smile quickly left his face. "All right Nakano, get on with it. The suspense is killing me."

**. . . . . **

"That drinking game we were playing last night. Does everyone remember that?"

Everybody nodded, except Kirishima. "I wouldn't, because I wasn't around when you all were playing it."

"You played, Kirishima... you don't remember that? Wow! Okay... everybody has a drink. We all had glasses of the drink Mayeda made... 'Nerve Gas', I think he called it. You take a coin and try to bounce it on the table into the glass of someone's drink. If you miss, then your turn is over. If you make it in, then that person can't use their fingers to fish the coin out. They have to down their drink, catch the coin with their teeth, and then give the coin back to you... and then you get another turn... until you miss and then the turn passes to the next person."

"I'm familiar with this game," Kirishima told him. "I've played it before... when I was much younger."

"Yeah, you told us. You're very good at it..." Nakano put his cigarette out in an ashtray. "Before you came in, some of the guys ganged up on me; probably because I'm the new guy. This was the first time I ever drank though, so I didn't do so well."

"Aw, shit Nakano!" Yamato exclaimed. "You should have told us that from the beginning. We would have NEVER done that to you if we had known that."

"Nah, we would've still done it," Oda smirked.

"Admit it was my first time drinking to a bunch of tough guys like you? No way! Anyway, that's why I got so sick." He turned to Kirishima. "You found me outside and took care of me. Thanks for that."

"I remember that much," Kirishima said.

"You brought me back inside and helped me to get cleaned up, and then you went back out to check on Asami-sama, remember that too?"

"No, I don't remember that at all! I went back out?!"

"Yeah, Suoh was pissed off about that. You two had a terrible fight about it. You don't remember that either, do you?"

Kirishima shook his head. "Not at all."

"He was really worried about you. We all were. You were really starting to lose it last night. After you went back out, Oda suggested that maybe a drink would calm you down and relax you, and then everyone started plotting on how to get you drunk..."

**. . . . . **

**. . **

_The drinking game they were playing is called "monedita" in South America. In the US, it is known as "quarters". Other countries have different names for it. The rules vary, and can even change during the course of the game. NOTE: Avoid playing this game. Trust me on this. It will get you into SO much trouble..._


	3. Chapter 3

**.**

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**. . . . . **

The bungalow was set up so that there was a great room that combined a living room area, with two large couches and two overstuffed chairs, with the kitchen and dining area, which a had large table that could seat 8. When Kirishima entered with Nakano, he led him over to the kitchen sink.

Suoh, Chiba, and Oda were sitting at the table. Suoh was trying to bounce a coin into a glass. There was a sound of a "clink", and then Suoh said, "Ha! Drink Chiba!"

Yamato and Mayeda were sitting on the couches. "Hey, Nakano..." Mayeda called out. "You all right? We could hear you hurling from all the way in here!"

Kirishima wet down a small towel with cold water and handed it to Nakano. "He's fine," Kirishima answered.

Nakano wiped his face with the cloth and then held it to his forehead. "That feels good."

Kirishima took a glass from the cabinet, filled it with water and gave it to Nakano. "Rinse your mouth out, and then take a couple of sips." Kirishima watched Nakano do as he had instructed, and then peered at the young man's pale face. "Feel like you're going to be sick again?"

"No, I'm better now. Really," he said. He put his hand on his chest. "It's just my heart's kind of racing."

"That should calm down in a few minutes. Drink as much water as you can. It will keep you from getting a bad hangover."

Nakano draped the towel over his head, covering his face. "I'm so embarrassed!"

Kirishima took the towel off him. "Don't be. We've all been there before."

Kirishima led Nakano over to one of the couches. Again there was a "clink", followed by the sound of a coin landing on the table. Suoh sighed loudly.

"My turn," Oda said. He took the coin and aimed it at Chiba's glass.

"Hey! What the hell...?" Chiba said.

Oda bounced the coin into Chiba's glass. "Drink Chiba," he smirked.

"Suoh just went after you! Why are you making ME drink?" Chiba protested.

"Because he knows he can take you out easier than he could me," Suoh grinned.

Chiba downed his drink and then put his head down on the table. Chiba's words sounded slurred. "...'s not fair. Suoh's got that damn size. We should have all teamed up against him."

"Where's the coin Chiba?" Oda asked. "Did you swallow it?"

"I'm out... take the damn coin." He lifted his head, grinned, and then stuck out his tongue obscenely. The coin was on the tip of his tongue.

Oda grimaced and then plucked the coin from Chiba's tongue. He looked at Suoh and grinned. "You're going down big guy!"

"We'll see," Suoh said.

Kirishima started to walk to his room. He stopped and then a worried look crossed his face. He turned back around and headed back towards the door.

"Where are you going Kirishima?" Suoh spoke loudly from the table.

"I have one more thing I need to check on." Kirishima opened the door.

Suoh got up suddenly and bolted toward the door, reaching it within a few quick steps. He slammed it shut, surprising Kirishima.

Kirishima looked at Suoh calmly. "Move away from the door, Suoh."

Suoh had an angry expression on his face. "You are NOT going back out. There's no reason you need to be out there. You're on vacation now... have you forgotten?"

Kirishima glared at Suoh and then suddenly lunged at him, shoving him backwards. Suoh was unprepared for this sudden move and had to fight to keep his balance. Kirishima opened the door and walked out.

Suoh growled and rushed out after him, catching Kirishima by the arm before he could step off the porch. Kirishima spun around and kicked Suoh's leg, causing Suoh to fall. Suoh didn't let go of Kirishima though, and ended up pulling him down as well.

"GET THE FUCK OFF ME, YOU ASS!" Kirishima yelled loudly.

"Quiet down, you idiot!" Suoh hissed. "You want the boss to hear you? What's the matter with you?!"

The men had gathered at the door and were watching Suoh and Kirishima.

"I just need to run the boat around the island once to make sure it's all clear. All right? Now, let go of me!" He took a swing at Suoh with his free hand. Suoh brought his other arm up and blocked the punch.

"Chiba," Oda whispered, "we need to get Kirishima to drink some of that concoction of yours. That would calm him down and take the fight out of him."

Chiba shrugged. "And how are we going to get him to do that?"

Kirishima swung at Suoh again. Suoh grabbed Kirishima's fist, and was now restraining both of Kirishima's hands. "You gonna be dumb enough to try to brawl with me?"

"I can take you!" Kirishima growled. "Anytime, any day!"

Oda grinned mischievously and whispered back at the other men, "I think I know how to get him to drink it."

Suoh growled. "You're not thinking clearly! You're going to take the damn boat out there and end up setting off the proximity alarm on the yacht. If the boss doesn't end up shooting you, you're going to wish he had once he discovers you were out there, disregarding his orders!"

Kirishima stopped struggling and then sighed heavily. "Okay, I get it... you're right. You can let go of me now."

Suoh let him go. "Let's go back inside."

"I will, just let me take one last look at the yacht first..."

"You can keep looking at it all night... nothing is going to change!"

"Then... give me a few minutes to cool off."

Suoh glared at him.

Kirishima growled back at him. "I swear, I won't leave this porch!"

Nakano whispered to the men beside him, "All right you guys, do whatever it is you need to do."

Nakano pushed past the men. "Suoh, I'll watch Kirishima while he's out here. I owe him that. Is that okay with you Kirishima? I won't bother you."

"Do whatever you want," Kirishima stood up and then walked over to a chair that was on the porch. He picked it up, turning it so it was facing away from everyone, then slammed it down and sat in it.

Suoh stood up. "Somebody get me a gun." Oda ducked back in and then came back out. He gave the gun to Suoh, who then handed it to Nakano.

"If he even takes one step off this porch, shoot him in the ass!" Suoh scowled.

**. . . . .**

Fifteen minutes later, Kirishima and Nakano walked back in. Kirishima began to head back to his room, but then he stopped and turned back around. "I apologize for the way I acted. I'm going to bed now." He frowned and then walked back toward the kitchen. "Maybe a glass of water first..."

"Hey Kirishima, why don't you try a little of this." Chiba suggested holding up the pitcher.

Kirishima shook his head. "No thanks."

Oda took the coin and bounced it into Suoh's glass. "Drink Suoh!"

Suoh sighed and then downed his glass, retrieving the coin. "You just might win this one." He refilled his glass from the pitcher, spilling some of it as it poured out. Out of the corner of his eye, Suoh could see Kirishima watching them.

Oda bounced the coin and it missed. "Oh man! Well, I should have my turn back here pretty quick because to be honest, you kind of suck at this."

"Oh yeah? Well watch this..." Suoh bounced the coin. It glanced off the edge and then went in. "Oh look at that! It actually went in... drink Oda."

Oda downed his glass and removed the coin from his mouth. "I'm out." Oda turned to Kirishima. "It's that big size of his. We should've made him down a few glasses beforehand to level the playing field. I bet if you took him on right now..."

Kirishima shook his head. "Not interested."

Suoh stretched his huge body out in the chair and yawned. "That's because he knows he can't take me. Not at fighting... and certainly not at this game... even if I did let him take the first turn."

Kirishima smirked. "I could take you... if I was in the mood to do so."

"You keep saying that, but it's never been proven." Suoh smirked back at Kirishima, "I think your real strength is dishing out the bullshit."

"Never been proven..." Kirishima narrowed his eyes at Suoh. "I'll give you your damn proof."

The men turned to each other and grinned.

Kirishima walked over to the table and sat down. He glanced at Suoh, looking him in the eyes with a subtle expression of remorse. Suoh smiled slightly as he accepted the heartfelt apology. The men around them were unaware of this silent communication that had just passed between Kirishima and Suoh.

"I'll get you a glass," Chiba offered.

"It's not necessary since I doubt I'll be drinking. I'll use Suoh's." He picked up the coin and examined it. "This is a Brazilian coin, isn't it? I bounce this into his glass, right?"

"Yeah," Yamato answered. "Hold it between your fingers by the edges."

"Like this?" Kirishima bounced the coin and it went directly into the glass. "Oh, look at that!" he smirked. "It went in."

Suoh downed the glass and gave the coin back. "Ah, beginner's luck," he smiled.

"Or natural skill." Kirishima bounced the coin into the glass again. "See? Drink Suoh."

The glass was refilled, and again Kirishima bounced the coin into the glass. Suoh growled and downed the glass.

"Hmm..." Kirishima rubbed his chin. "The new rule is that Suoh can't say the word 'what' for the next 15 minutes."

"WHAT?!" Suoh yelled.

The men all laughed. Kirishima gave Suoh an innocent look, "If I make it into the glass three times in a row, I get to make a rule. And if you break the rule, then you have to drink... isn't that right?"

Suoh narrowed his eyes at Kirishima and then downed the glass again. "You've played this before."

"Back when I was much younger. And..." he bounced the coin into the glass again, "I was very good at it. You men are about to watch the legendary Suoh Kazumi being taken down by the extraordinary Kirishima Kei."

The men looked worriedly at each other.

Mayeda got up and walked by the table, bumping it as Kirishima bounced the coin. "Oops!" he smiled.

The coin missed the glass. "Mayeda... " Suoh rolled his eyes. He held out the coin to Kirishima. "You can go again."

"No, no... I can afford to give you a chance."

"If you insist..." Suoh bounced the coin into the glass. "Drink Kirishima... oh wait, let's just save some time..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out two more coins. He bounced each of them into the glass. "There! That's three drinks for you. Oh, and the new rule is that Kirishima can't speak for the next 15 minutes."

Kirishima slowly nodded and his lip quirked upward. "You guys set me up... I'm an idiot."

Suoh smiled condescendingly. "Yes, you are. And you just spoke, so that's four you have to down now."

Kirishima picked up the glass, frowning at it. He brought it to his nose and sniffed at it.

"Just drink it!" Chiba yelled.

Kirishima took a sip and then looked back down at the glass. "Hey, this isn't too bad Chiba."

"Five!" Chiba exclaimed.

"Shit..." Kirishima swore softly.

"Six!" all the men called out gleefully.

Kirishima downed the glass and spit three coins out into his hand. Chiba refilled the glass for him so he could drink again. They repeated this action until Kirishima had taken all six drinks.

Suoh took another turn and missed. Kirishima took his turn and made it into the glass three more times. "New rule, Kirishima can speak again. Drink Suoh." He missed on his next turn and Suoh got the coin into the glass next.

Though they seemed to be equally matched, eventually both of them began missing the glass more and more. Suoh's face was becoming flushed and he had begun to slightly slur his words. Kirishima didn't look or act any different, however.

"Kirishima's not getting drunk," Nakano observed, worriedly. "How is he doing that?"

Yamato smiled. "Yes he is. It's not obvious, but he's feeling it. He's missing all his shots now."

After Suoh missed yet again, Kirishima picked up the coin and then set it down. "This is pointless. Neither of us are hitting the glass anymore. I think we need to call this a draw."

Suoh sighed heavily, "Yeah... I guess. Draw." He reached out to shake Kirishima's hand.

Kirishima shook his hand and then stood up and turned to walk toward the couches. He took one step and went down immediately.

"Kirishima!" Suoh yelled, jumping up.

Kirishima rolled over so that he was on his back. A smile lit up his whole face. "I'm drunk."

Suoh let out his breath. "Well, it's about damn time!"

The men applauded and cheered loudly.

**. . . . . **

**. .**

_Just in case you were wondering... the glasses were only filled halfway. Sort of like taking extra-large shots._


	4. Chapter 4

_Trivia of no particular significance: The character "Yamato" is AU from the manga "Border" (if he went to work for Asami after resigning from Special Ops., instead of becoming a private investigator ) His last name is actually "Suō" (Suoh), however, to avoid confusion I took the liberty of using his first name as his last name._

**. .**

**. . . . .**

A couple of men helped Kirishima up and led him to one of the chairs near the couches. Suoh sat back down at the table and gazed at Kirishima with relief.

It was strange for Suoh to see the normally stiff-backed, no-nonsense businessman relaxing with his eyes closed in the overstuffed chair. He had always assumed Kirishima had a powerfully built physique under his business attire, but it was odd to actually see it. His shirt was pulled up a bit, and Suoh got a glimpse of washboard abs.

_I bet he would look really good without his glasses_.

Suoh's face turned red and he quickly looked away. _Was I just ogling Kirishima?!_

He saw Yamato watching him. Yamato's eyes flickered in the direction of Kirishima before returning to look at Suoh. He smirked.

Suoh glanced away, feeling embarrassed.

Yamato was an anomaly on the team. Most of the men were tall and powerfully built, but Yamato was small, even shorter than Takaba, and weighed much less. It was his deadly skill with a gun that had won him his present position.

"It's strange the boss brought Takaba here, don't you think?" Chiba said.

Everyone shifted uncomfortably.

"I mean, you might almost think that he and that kid... well, you know..."

Oda stared at Chiba. "What... are you an idiot?! Are you just now figuring that out?"

"Oh, it's true then?" Chiba scratched his head. "That's just... weird."

"It's nobody's business," Yamato frowned at him. "Do you have a problem with it?"

"Me? NO! I mean, I just don't get it. How would two men even...?"

Yamato rolled his eyes. "You have a seme and an uke. A top and a bottom. The uke 'receives' the seme. Do you need a more thorough explanation?"

"No," Chiba said blushing. "I get it."

"You seem to know an awful lot about it, Yamato," snickered Mayeda. "Are you gay?"

"Yes, I am." Yamato smiled.

"Whoa... really? I was just teasing. Wow, who knew?"

"I knew," Kirishima said, without opening his eyes. His response startled Suoh who thought that Kirishima had fallen asleep. "I know EVERYTHING about everybody."

"You can be really scary sometimes, Kirishima," Oda said.

Kirishima smiled, "Good. You all SHOULD be afraid of me."

"So what are you then, Yamato? The seme or the uke?" Chiba asked.

"That's a bit personal, but I'll satisfy your nosy curiosity," Yamato said. "I can go either way, but I prefer being the uke. What about you, Chiba? What do you think you'd be if there was nothing but other men around?"

"Oh... a seme, of course. What about you, Oda?"

"Seme," Oda answered.

They all looked at Suoh. Suoh chuckled, "Are you kidding me? Seme."

"I'd be a seme, without a doubt," Kirishima answered, with his eyes still closed.

_Too bad,_ Suoh thought before realizing how weirdly inappropriate that thought was.

"I could NEVER do that!" Mayeda said. "I love women too much! Did I tell you about my date this afternoon?"

"Several times," Suoh rolled his eyes.

"Her name was Calisto. The name means 'most beautiful'... and she was." Mayeda stood up, swaying, "All that dancing made us hot so we tore off our clothes," Mayeda began stripping off his clothing, "and she looked at me and said, 'Oh Mayeda! I want your body'..."

Suoh frowned, "Mayeda, put your clothes back on..."

Chiba grimaced and threw a pillow at Mayeda. "We don't want to see that! Cover up!"

"No! It must be free to swing in the breeze! I'll be right back..."

Mayeda dashed out the door. Suddenly they all heard Mayeda outside screaming loudly, "I, MAYEDA, UNLEASH THE POWER OF MY MIGHTY FLESH BEAST UPON THE WORLD! HAAAAAAAH!"

The men began to laugh hysterically.

"Shit...!" Suoh jumped up and stumbled out the door. Yamato got up and ran after him.

"KING DONG WILL CONQUER ALL! BEHOLD HIS MIGHTY... " They heard the sound of Mayeda being muzzled.

Suoh and Yamato dragged a naked Mayeda back inside.

"Damn it! Do you guys WANT to find out what it's like to be reprimanded by Asami?" Suoh scowled as he returned to his seat. "You don't! Trust me."

"Look! That idiot has a fucking hard on!" Chiba pointed out, laughing.

Mayeda walked toward Yamato. He swung his hips causing his erection to flop around and pitched his voice high so it sounded like a girl. "Oooh, Mayeda! You're so big!"

Yamato smiled and rolled his eyes. "You're not that big."

"Oh yeah? Need a closer look?" Mayeda moved closer. "Doesn't that make you hot?"

"You're not my type," Yamato said.

"Who's your type then, pretty boy?"

"Suoh."

"Whoa!" Suoh said. "Hold on...!"

"I meant your body type. Don't worry, I make it a rule to never target anyone I work with."

Mayeda whipped around at the sound of someone snickering. "And what are you giggling about, Nakano?"

Nakano was failing to suppress a smile. "I'm bigger than you."

"Are you? Do girls gag when they try to blow you... because they do me."

"It's not your size that's making them gag, Mayeda!" Oda called out.

"I don't know, I've never really..." Nakano blushed as his voice trailed off.

"A virgin!" Yamato dove at Nakano and yanked down his shorts. "I want to be your first! I have such an incredible weakness for virgins..." Nakano yelped and tried to push him off, but Yamato grabbed his hands and then bent his head between Nakano's legs.

"Yamato, get off him!" Suoh yelled, but the men were cheering so loudly that Suoh's voice went unheard. He looked to Kirishima for help but Kirishima's eyes were still closed. Suoh thought he really might be out this time. He put his head down into his hands. "I swear, I'm nothing but a fucking babysitter right now."

Yamato lifted his head and then looked from Nakano's crotch to Mayeda's and grinned. "He's right... Nakano is bigger than you." He looked at Nakano's flushed face. "Don't worry, I won't leave you hanging..." He bent his head back into Nakano's lap. Nakano gasped and a few seconds later Yamato lifted his head and then sat back. With a red face, Nakano quickly pulled up his shorts.

"Beginners are SO fast," Yamato sighed.

"Fuck!" Mayeda fell to his knees with his hands between his legs. Everyone stared at him bewildered. "Somebody hand me a tissue..." he asked in a small voice.

"Did you just come from watching that, Mayeda?!" Yamato asked.

Oda threw Mayeda's pants at him. They landed on top of his head. "Go clean up in the bathroom."

Mayeda got up, still covering his crotch with his hands, and staggered toward the hallway.

"I can't believe how badly you all are acting. Like a bunch of immature kids," Suoh said.

"Am not!" Chiba stuck his tongue out.

"Suoh's right," Oda said. "You guys are acting like little boys... comparing who has the biggest dick. It's pointless anyway. Wouldn't Suoh be the obvious winner?"

"Not necessarily," Yamato said shaking his head. "I know a couple of big guys that have tiny dicks. It's really sad."

"Just out of curiosity, Suoh... how big are you?" Oda asked.

Suoh turned to him, looking offended. "I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer!"

"I'd like to know too, Suoh." Nakano said.

"Too bad," Suoh smirked.

The men all glanced at each other and grinned. Suoh's eyes widened as they all suddenly got up and rushed at him. They grabbed onto his arms and legs, trying to pull him from his chair. "Get off!" Suoh yelled, fighting them off.

Mayeda walked back into the room, dressed in his shorts again but still lacking a shirt. "What did I miss?"

"Suoh's shy about telling us how big his dick is. We're helping him to overcome that," Chiba said.

Mayeda walked over and grabbed onto the same arm that Yamato was pulling on and yanked hard. The chair fell over as the men pulled Suoh to the ground and pinned him down. Suoh felt someone fumbling at his pants and then heard a zipper. He felt cool air in his nether regions as he was exposed.

"Wow, would you look at that?" Oda said. "That's impressive."

"Fucking perverts!" Suoh cursed. "Is your curiosity satisfied now?"

"How big are you when you're hard?" Chiba asked.

"I don't know! I've never measured it!"

"Get him hard Yamato, so we can find out," Mayeda said.

Yamato actually blushed, and then shook his head. "I better not. Besides, I don't think I could take someone his size."

"I can take him," Kirishima's voice came from the chair.

They looked back at Kirishima. His eyes were still closed. The men all broke up laughing.

"We're not talking about fighting, Kirishima!" Mayeda said.

Kirishima opened his eyes, "Eh?"

"We're talking about Yamato trying to blow him."

"Oh," Kirishima closed his eyes again.

"I don't think anyone could take him all the way into their mouth. Ever had someone deep throat you, Suoh?" Yamato asked.

Suoh's face reddened. "Who asks something like that?!"

Yamato smiled. "I'll take that as a 'no'."

"Fine... NO! Now get the fuck off me!"

Kirishima opened his eyes again and leaned forward to look between Suoh's legs. He nodded, "I could take him."

The men looked at each other. "OOOH!"

"Take him all the way, when he's hard? I bet you couldn't!" said Chiba.

Kirishima narrowed his eyes. "How much?"

"OH!" Chiba fumbled to pull out his wallet while holding down Suoh's leg. He tossed the wallet on the ground. "However much is in there."

"Don't you want to count it?"

"No. If you can do it, you get whatever's in there. If not, you pay me... half of what's in there."

"All right," Kirishima agreed.

"Idiots!" Suoh growled. "Don't take advantage of him when he's drunk!"

"Wait...!" Oda struggled to pull his wallet out. "Same deal, but you have to make him come."

Kirishima furrowed his brow. "I don't know about that..."

"And swallow it!" Mayeda said excited. "But you have to swallow every single drop!"

Yamato grinned, "Count me in."

"If I lose, then I'd have to pay each of you. Hmm... Nakano, if you throw in too, then I'll take the bet."

"Come on Nakano!" Mayeda said.

Nakano pulled out his wallet and tossed it on the ground. "Peer pressure is a terrible thing," he smirked shaking his head.

Kirishima slid off the chair onto the floor.

"Kirishima... THINK about what you're doing!" Suoh tried reasoning with him.

Kirishima slowly crawled over to Suoh. "You looked scared, Suoh... that's a good look on you." Seeing the strange smile on Kirishima's face as he crawled toward him caused Suoh to feel a warm flushing in his groin area.

_No, no, no... you are NOT reacting to this!_

Suoh began to struggle harder. Kirishima looked between his legs and hesitated. "Maybe it would be better if I can't see..." He reached up, removed his glasses and tossed them aside.

_Oh... he does look good without his glasses_...

That stray thought broke Suoh's control and he felt a rapid stiffening between his legs.

"Ah, he's getting hard..." Yamato said.

Suoh felt a warm wetness start to envelop him and then he heard a gagging sound before it retreated. The warm wetness returned and went a little further down, and then there was another gagging sound before it retreated again.

"He's too big," Yamato said. "You're not going to be able to do it."

"Give me a chance to get used to it! I've never done anything like this before." Kirishima bobbed down a few more times but he ended up gagging each time.

Suoh felt his body reacting to the sensation, but he was too concerned about Kirishima to be able to enjoy it. "Okay, that's enough...!"

He suddenly felt the warm wetness slide completely down his shaft. "Oh...!" His body shuddered pleasantly.

_So that's what it feels like to be taken in all the way._ The warm wetness retreated again.

"He did it!" Oda exclaimed.

"All right, he won," Suoh growled. "Now let me up!"

"No, he has to make you come and swallow all of it." He felt the warm wetness return.

"The HELL he does...!" Suoh put everything into what he had to throw the men off.

They struggled to keep him pinned. "Hold him!" Chiba grunted. "You're going to hurt Kirishima if you keep this up, Suoh!"

Suoh felt lips brush up against his ear. "Suoh..." Yamato whispered, "Just say the word and I'll call them off... but don't you really want this?" He felt a tongue lightly flick into his ear, followed by a warm breath. Suoh shivered. _Yamato, you betraying little bastard..._

He opened his mouth with the intention of telling Yamato to call them off, but instead he let out his breath, closed his eyes and relaxed his arms and legs.

_I DO want this... I must be drunker than I thought._

He gave in to the sensation. Kirishima was clumsy at first, but he learned quickly by listening to the sound of Suoh's breathing as he went over Suoh's more sensitive spots. Suoh realized at one point the men were no longer holding him down. As he felt himself growing closer to his peak, fear overtook him.

_I can't come in his mouth!_

He clinched his fists and fought against climaxing.

After a time, Kirishima lifted his head. "My jaw's getting sore," he said as he rubbed it.

"Give up?" Chiba grinned.

"Never." Kirishima took Suoh back into his mouth. For the second time, Suoh felt Kirishima's mouth briefly slide all the way down his entire shaft. He fought hard to keep from losing it.

Again, Suoh heard Yamato whispering in his ear. "You know he won't quit. Just let go..."

_I hope this is going to be all right._ He reached down and grasped Kirishima by the hair. "Kei...!" he gasped. The orgasm rocked him, and then he felt Kirishima swallowing as he released.

He opened his eyes and saw Kirishima's mouth wrapped around his shaft. A thin white stream, dripped down its length.

"HA! You didn't get it all! You lose!" Mayeda gloated.

Suoh realized he was still gripping onto Kirishima's hair. He let go and Kirishima sat back. Kirishima wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Ugh... that was a lot. Don't you ever jerk off?!"

"Sorry... it's been a rough week," he muttered. He sat up and pulled his pants back up.

A fleeting look of anguish crossed Kirishima's face. "Yes, it has."

"Oh it was just a tiny bit. I'd say Kirishima won," Oda said, glaring at Mayeda.

Mayeda sighed, "Sure... he won." Everyone emptied their wallets, tossing bills on the floor.

Kirishima smirked. "Told you I could take him." He began scooping up the money.

Yamato's face was flushed. "I could use a cigarette..."

"Yeah, me too," said Mayeda. The men made their way out the door to the front porch, leaving Suoh and Kirishima alone.

Kirishima finished stuffing the cash into his pocket and then collapsed back into the chair. He was staring up at the ceiling. "I'm really sorry."

Suoh was feeling awkward and was speechless.

"I feel horrible about fighting with you like that. I had no reason to lash out at you, of all people. "

_Oh, he's talking about earlier_.

"That capo's captain, Julio... he didn't like Asami. Not at all. He objected to the deal. He was the reason it took so long to come to an agreement. He made me nervous. Even though guns weren't allowed in the room, I kept myself between him and the boss at all times. I was so relieved when the deal was done! I could think of nothing but getting Asami the hell out of there."

Kirishima put his arm across his face. "After we finally came to an agreement, Julio pulled me aside and spoke to me. Swore to me that one day when it's least expected, when I'm standing next to Asami, a bullet from his gun will find Asami and rip through his heart."

Suoh looked at him in shock. "Why didn't you tell me about any of this?"

"What could you have done? Kill Julio? None of us would have made it out of there alive if something like that had happened. There was nothing anyone could do. This is why we left so quickly after the deal was done."

"I learned a lot about the capo's gang while we were there," Suoh told him. "They have very few resources... just guns and jeeps. Only enough to fight against the other factions in their country. No planes... I can't even imagine one of them trying to board a commercial flight to go anywhere. Julio is stuck in his country. He can't do anything now that we're gone. You must understand that."

"I know. You're right, but even still... there was something about him that really spooked me, Suoh. He's barely holding onto his sanity. He's going to snap one day, and when that happens a lot of people will die at his hand. I see his face in my dreams, making that threat about Asami over and over again. Now I dread sleeping, so I've been avoiding it."

"You haven't been sleeping? For how long?"

"Going on three days now."

"No wonder you've been acting so strange! Lack of sleep will really mess you up, Kirishima. I wish you had come to me about this, instead of keeping it all inside. Sometimes just talking about it can help."

"Yes, I know... I feel more relaxed right now than I've felt in days. Thank you," He closed his eyes and wearily leaned his head back. "I think I could sleep now."

Suoh picked up a pillow and lobbed it at Kirishima. It hit him in the chest and then landed in his lap. "Hey you... lean on me from now on. All right?"

With his eyes still closed, Kirishima reached for the pillow and flung it back at Suoh, hitting him squarely in the face. He smiled. "You're a good man, Suoh..." His words trailed off into a soft snore.

At those words, Suoh felt an odd twinge in his chest. "So are you, Kirishima" he whispered back, softly.

**. . . . .**

Nakano had finished speaking. There was dead silence at the table.

Kirishima looked at Suoh. "Everything that Nakano just told us... is this what really happened?"

Suoh nodded slowly, "Yeah."

"I am SO fired!" Yamato groaned. "I..." He stopped at the sound of someone chuckling.

Kirishima was still looking at Suoh and grinning. "I honestly don't remember any of it. I gave you a blow job?!" He chuckled again. "I wish I could have seen the look on your face. Or rather... I wish I could REMEMBER seeing the look on your face! Were you terribly shocked?"

"VERY!"

"I'm pleased to hear it," Kirishima sat back with a smug look on his face.

"But he really enjoyed it!" Chiba said. "He was all like, ahhh... ohhh Kirishima...!" Suoh glared menacingly at Chiba. "Well... that's how I imagine it went."

"Nakano..." Yamato said, looking remorseful, "doing what I did to you, and Suoh, holding you down like that... I have no excuse for my behavior. I'll turn in my resignation papers as soon as we return to Japan."

"Don't worry about it," Suoh told him. "We were ALL drunk. We'll just keep what happened last night between the seven of us."

"What if Asami-sama finds out and asks about it?" Nakano asked.

"Then you'll answer him honestly," Kirishima said sternly. "But he won't ask."

"You sure about that?" Oda asked.

Kirishima shrugged, "No one was on duty last night so as Suoh said, I wouldn't worry too much."

"Hey, Suoh," Mayeda said, "Nakano said when we all went out for a cigarette, you stayed behind with Kirishima. Anything else happen?"

Suoh shook his head. "He fell asleep almost immediately."

"That's it?" Mayeda sounded disappointed.

"Well, before he passed out, he explained why he took a swing at me earlier."

"Did I?" Kirishima raised his eyebrows, "You'll have to tell me about that later."

Suoh smiled slightly. "We'll have a long talk."

Everyone but Suoh got up from the table, some going back in the house and some walking out toward the beach. Kirishima started to walk away but stopped and put his hand on Suoh's shoulder.

"Told you I could take you." He winked and walked away.

** . . . . . **

**. .**

_**End of Part One**  
_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Part Two**\- The men of Sion have returned to Japan. Fortunately, their rigid professionalism keeps them from letting what happened on the island from intruding on their work lives._

_Except... when it doesn't._

* * *

**Teaser**

**. . **

**. . . . .**

They had been back for nearly a week now and everything seemed to be getting back to normal, or rather relatively normal considering what the men did for a living. Suoh and Kirishima had tried to discuss what had gone on behind the scenes during the trade deal, but Kirishima still found it difficult to talk about Julio. He told Suoh he wanted to wait a couple of weeks to put the ordeal behind him before trying again. Since the night of the drunken party, Kirishima was looking somewhat relaxed and refreshed so Suoh agreed to give him some time.

Not long after they had returned, Suoh was waiting outside Asami's office to give him a report about a minor gang that had been breaking into their warehouses. Kirishima was closely scrutinizing an accounting report as he absentmindedly tapped a pen against his lips. Suoh having nothing else better to do while waiting, watched Kirishima as he worked. Kirishima became aware that Suoh was staring at him and realized he had his pen against his mouth. He parted his lips and then slid the pen between them, giving Suoh a lewd look. Suoh blushed and looked away. To see the large man so easily embarrassed amused Kirishima to no end.

Since then, Kirishima had taken on the challenge of reminding Suoh in any way possible about what took place on the island, wanting to see just how much he could embarrass Suoh. Whenever Suoh was in his presence, he would take his pen and seductively rub his lips across it. Another time he picked up an envelope and made a show of licking it suggestively with his tongue, even though it was actually a self-adhesive envelope.

One day he brought in a banana and placed it on his desk. As soon as Suoh came in and saw it, he angrily walked over and snatched it off the desk. "Don't even think about it!" Suoh said as he stuck it into his coat pocket.

Kirishima looked at him frowning. "Why did you take my snack? Isn't that rude?"

"Enough is enough!"

Kirishima shook his head. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Did you know that is a Gokusen banana from the fruit emporium? I paid 600 for it."

"600 for one banana?!"

"Yes. Look at it. It doesn't have a single blemish on it."

Suoh took the banana out of his pocket and looked at the elongated fruit. It was a uniform bright yellow, so perfect it almost looked fake.

"Sorry," he said as he handed it back.

Kirishima began peeling the banana. "It's also very large, isn't it? I have a thing for really big bananas. Want to see how big of a bite I can take?" Kirishima smiled, and then slowly slid the entire length of the banana into his mouth and bit down.

As expected, Suoh blushed before growling and stomping out of the office.

The door to Asami's office opened. Kirishima quickly opened a drawer and dropped the peel into it while trying to swallow the big bite he had taken.

"Where's Suoh?" Asami asked, looking around. "I thought he was waiting to see me."

Kirishima was unable to answer. Instead he choked a bit which caused Asami to look at him with concern. "Are you all right, Kirishima?"

Kirishima finally swallowed the last part down, coughing, with his eyes watering. "Yes. Sorry sir. Allergies."

**. . . . .**

Asami was attending a dinner party for a visiting foreign underworld figure. There were more bodyguards in attendance than actual guests; so many, that the guests' guards had to find a space to stand along the wall surrounding the house. Suoh was standing guard by the limo. Kirishima was standing next to the gate of the house not far from Suoh. The place was well secured so their presence was really more for show.

They had been standing there for almost three hours now. Most of the guards were bored and had taken to chatting with one another. Kirishima decided to see how long it would take him to break Suoh's stoic expression. Suoh didn't lose his composure as easily when he was on guard. He walked over and stood next to Suoh for a few minutes. Looking at his watch, he also decided to see how long it would take him to get Suoh to blush.

Kirishima squirmed as if he was uncomfortable. He casually reached down between his legs and tugged at his trousers. Suoh's eyes briefly flickered in Kirishima's direction before looking forward again. His expression remained impassive.

"This new suit is uncomfortable, but it's my fault that it turned out this way. When the tailor was measuring me for the trousers, he asked how I dressed... left or right? Have you ever heard that expression before? I thought he wanted to know what leg do I put in my trousers first. It turns out he meant, which side of the trouser seam do I hang?"

"I know what it means," Suoh replied coolly.

"Well I hang to the right. Most men apparently hang to the left. So now I'm trying to remember which way it is for you. Were your pants already down when I..."

Suoh scowled. "You know what you're doing is sexual harassment!"

"Is it?" Kirishima checked his watch. _35 seconds to break his composure._

Suoh still kept looking forward. "You know damn well it is! I know being a manager you've disciplined someone in the past for it. So tell me, Manager-san, how do you deal with someone who's accused of sexually harassing another employee?"

"I have a talk with them. I also deduct a fine from their paycheck and then have them attend some sensitivity training classes." Kirishima smiled, "Are you thinking about filing a claim against me? I'll call myself into my office first thing in the morning."

"It sounds to me like you let them off too easy. What happens if they're proven to be a habitual offender?"

Kirishima sighed. "Automatic termination of employment."

"Really. So counting what you just did, and your actions during the past week, AND that night on the island..."

Kirishima rolled his eyes. "I get it already."

"You never did apologize for what you did to me that night," Suoh grumbled.

"Apologize?! You want me to say, 'I'm sorry I accidentally gave you a blow job'? I don't think those words have ever been spoken in all of human history."

Suoh finally turned to look at him. "It doesn't bother you at all? What happened that night?"

"Of course not. I have no memory of it, so it's like it never happened. I am concerned about the blacking out part. That's never happened to me before..." Kirishima stopped. "Does it bother you that much?"

"Yeah."

"Do you wish it had never happened? "

Suoh looked forward again. "I don't know." He frowned, "In a weird way I feel... obligated to you in some way."

Kirishima tried to suppress a smile. "You want to give me a blow job?!"

Suoh's face reddened. "No, that's not what I meant!"

Kirishima checked his watch again. _One minute, 53 seconds to get him to blush._

Suoh glanced at Kirishima. "Why... do you want me to?"

Yamato walked out from the gate and approached them. "Kirishima..."

"Are you sexually harassing me, Suoh?" Kirishima smirked.

Suoh narrowed his eyes at Kirishima. "Are you getting off playing with me like that?"

Kirishima shook his head. "Again, with the sexual innuendo."

Yamato looked at both of them with a wary expression. "The party's wrapping up. The boss will be ready to leave in ten minutes."

"Thank you Yamato. I'll bring the car around to the entrance." Kirishima pulled the keys out of his pocket and walked toward the driver's side of the limo.

"Kirishima," Suoh called after him, "it's been more than two weeks now. I think it's time you stopped putting off our discussion."

A flash of irritation crossed Kirishima's face. "Sorry, I can't go out with you tonight. I'll be busy."

Suoh looked frustrated. Yamato looked at both of them shrewdly and then said, "If you don't mind my company, I'll go out with you after work, Suoh."

Kirishima raised an eyebrow at this.

Suoh looked at Yamato and nodded. "Yeah, sure."

**. . . . .**

Kirishima was up again, having woken up in a cold sweat for the second time since he tried going to sleep. For some reason the nightmares were hitting him harder tonight than they had been in the past week.

_I should have taken Suoh up on his offer to talk. He's right, I've been putting it off too long. _

_And I really should stop harassing him, too. It seems to bother him too much. I just get the feeling that since that night on the island, he seems to be more interested in me than he should be. I guess I've been trying to turn him off. We should discuss that as well._

_He went out with Yamato this evening. Nakano told us that Yamato had admitted to being attracted to Suoh. Suoh needs to be careful around him._

Kirishima went back into his bedroom and stared at the bed. _If I try to go back to sleep now, I might be able to get 3 hours in before work._

**. . . . . **

Kirishima was standing next to the limo talking to Asami when Asami suddenly gasped and looked down. A red stain began to form on his chest and then he collapsed. Kirishima knew immediately the bullet had penetrated his heart and there was nothing in his power he could do to save him, but he still called for help anyway.

The men came running but then all of them went down as Kirishima heard the sound of rapid gunfire. Kirishima instinctively threw himself down on the ground. The sound stopped and he looked back up. The men appeared to be holding someone down. It was Suoh.

Kirishima crawled over to where they were. Suoh had a terrified look on his face. It was a look Kirishima had never seen on Suoh before.

But something in the back of his mind told him that maybe he had seen this look before.

_It's me. He's scared of me._

The thought that he was feared by this large and powerfully built man sent a thrill straight to Kirishima's groin. Once he finally reached Suoh he noticed that his colleague's pants were undone.

_I'm going to take you... _he heard a voice say. The voice was his own.

The man being held down however showed no sign of sexual excitement. Kirishima took off his glasses and Suoh's fear suddenly turned to a look of desire. Kirishima took him into his mouth and tried to draw noises of pleasure from him, but Suoh stubbornly resisted and stayed silent. He felt the man's body tense and knew he was about to come.

Suoh's hand reached out to touch Kirishima's head and then he cried out, "Kei!"

Kirishima prepared for the inevitable shooting of fluid into his mouth, but instead he felt it hit his stomach.

_He's in my mouth! How could it hit me there...?_

**. . . . .**

Kirishima woke up with his body tingling and a fierce throbbing between his legs. He reached down and discovered his stomach was covered with a slippery wetness.

_A wet dream? At my age?!_

Kirishima looked at the clock. He had probably gotten two hours of sleep the whole night. He thought he might as well get up for the day. He went into the bathroom and rinsed out his sleepwear.

He turned on the shower and let the steamy water pour over his head as he tried to relax.

_That last part of the dream... was that a memory from that night on the island? I could ask Suoh if he called out my name when..._

He chuckled trying to imagine asking such a question.

_Suoh would no doubt turn all red. I've tortured the poor man enough about it. I won't do that to him anymore._

_What a fucked up nightmare that was though! I need to put a stop to that._

_I can't afford to keep putting it off. I'll definitely talk to Suoh about it tonight._

**. . . . . **

**. .**

* * *

**_Next: Suoh's Revenge_**

_Notes:  
"600 for one banana?!" Yes, he means Yen. Nearly US$6._

_"How do you dress?" (a polite way to ask: which way do you hang?) Which side of the seam does the genitalia hang? Tailors will provide for extra room on that side to make the trousers more comfortable._


	6. Chapter 6

**.**

**Suoh's Revenge, Part 1**

**. . **

**. .** **. . .**

The small pub was tucked away in a less populated area, crammed between a ramen shop and a small drugstore, away from the popular nightclubs and shopping areas in Shibuya. Those who ventured down the narrow alley way usually didn't notice the plain door with the small sign above it that read "Hoshō". A well-worn piece of cardboard was taped to the door on which someone had handwritten: Open 10:00 pm until ? ? Closed on Tuesdays.

The inside of the place was very confined. Sitting on one of the eight stools at the bar, the customers could actually lean their backs against the opposite wall if they so desired. The small size of the place was emphasized even more by the unusually large men who were occupying the seats. Occasionally, a curious tourist would open the door and peek in, only to be greeted by hostile stares from the men sitting inside the narrow pub. The tourist would usually shut the door quickly.

It was just around midnight when Suoh and Yamato came in. Suoh ordered a pitcher of beer as Yamato looked around. There were three others sitting at the end of the bar. Three very tall and muscular men.

"I can't believe it... all the men in here are my type!" Yamato said, amazed.

Suoh looked at him puzzled. "What do you mean? Oh...!" He began chuckling, "I forgot about that! You like big guys. I should've thought of that before I brought you here. This is where the bouncers from the nightclubs come to hang out after work."

Yamato gazed at the other three men who were chatting amongst themselves. He sighed dreamily, "Thank you...!"

Suoh shook his head and grinned. "Forget it. They're all straight."

Yamato raised his eyebrows. "How do you know?"

The bartender placed a pitcher and two mugs in front of them. Suoh picked up the pitcher and began pouring beer into one of the mugs. "I suppose I don't," he said sighing heavily. "I guess I really don't know anything about anybody." Suoh pushed the filled mug over to Yamato and then poured his own.

Yamato regarded Suoh thoughtfully. "I know this is none of my business, but is everything all right between you and Kirishima?"

Suoh took a drink. "Yeah, why do you ask?"

"I noticed earlier you two seemed to be upset with each other. You guys always got along really well with each other before..." Yamato shifted awkwardly in his seat, "You know that incident that happened between you two recently, right? Something like that can seriously change things between people."

"It's just me that has a problem with it, not Kirishima. He doesn't remember anything so it's not affecting him."

"Are you sure about that? Something seems off about him lately."

Suoh stared into his glass. "I'm sure. I'm the one having a hard time dealing with it. He must see it as a weakness in me. Maybe that's why he's refusing to talk to me about..."

Suoh suddenly looked up at Yamato with wide eyes. "You're right! Something IS off about him lately!" Suoh took another drink and then slammed his glass down. "That's it! That's why he's been doing all those crazy things to me! He's trying to push me away to avoid talking about what happened during that trade deal in South America!"

"Huh? What do you mean? What's Kirishima doing to you?"

"He keeps harassing me about..." Suoh lowered his voice, "that _thing_ that happened."

"How is he harassing you?"

Suoh blushed. "Well... he's been doing things with uh... office supplies..."

Yamato shook his head, confused. "What do you mean?"

"The pens and the pencils... and stuff like that! Oh, and the stapler too. That was the worst!"

"You aren't making any sense."

Suoh nervously took a deep breath. "Okay, it's like this... in the office the other day he had a banana on his desk and when I came in, he picked it up and you know... kind of did the oral sex thing with it."

"I see..." Yamato nodded, "I'm going to guess he did the same thing with the pens and pencils as well. Uh... what did he do with the stapler?"

"You get the idea," Suoh growled.

"Actually, I don't. What he could possibly do with a stapler that would be any worse?"

"Just forget I mentioned the stapler," Suoh said irritably.

"I've successfully dealt with harassment before. I can help you but I'll need to know EVERYTHING he's doing."

Suoh leaned over and whispered to Yamato, "He was licking the top of it, and then he started going 'OH! OH! OH!' while rapidly ejecting staples out of it."

Yamato nearly spit out a mouthful of beer. "Kirishima did that?! OHH...!" Yamato burst out laughing. Suoh glared at him.

Yamato fought to contain his laughter as he wiped tears from his eyes. "I'm sorry. He's a cocky bastard, isn't he? You're in luck though. There's actually an easy solution to shut down his bad behavior."

"Oh, do enlighten me with your wisdom," Suoh retorted sarcastically.

"It's that crazy 'I can beat Suoh at anything' attitude of his. He's got you emotionally pinned down with this because even though none of it was your doing, he knows you feel guilty for what happened between you two."

"That much is true," Suoh agreed. He took a big gulp from his mug, tipping it all the way up to down it completely.

"So call his bluff," Yamato shrugged.

"Do what?!" Suoh looked at Yamato, shocked.

"Tell him you want to take him up on his invitation. Corner him and then tell him he's been secretly driving you mad and you can't hold back anymore. If he thinks you're serious, he'll back off fast enough."

"Heh, back off... he'd probably punch me in the face!" Suoh grinned before turning serious once again. "No, I can't do that. He'd think badly of me if I did something like that. He'd probably never speak to me again."

"Oh? So how is it that all of us could pin you down against your will and yet you totally forgave us for that? Why aren't you angry at Kirishima for what he did to you?"

"That's because none of you were in your right mind at the time. Everybody was shitfaced drunk!"

Yamato grinned. "That's right! So tell me Suoh... how good of an actor are you?"

Suoh frowned. "Eh?"

"You pretend to be extremely drunk and then you come onto him VERY aggressively. REALLY pin him down. Just when he's about to literally fear for his ass, you conveniently pass out. The next day, you don't remember a thing... just like what happened to him. He won't harass you again because he'll be afraid of provoking the dormant sex beast that lurks inside of you. Man... I should write this down! That would be a great plot for a porno..."

"I can't do that! It would be dishonest!"

"All right Suoh, here are your choices- one: do nothing and live with it. Maybe he'll get bored with messing with you and stop, but from my experience that never happens. Two: you go to Asami and inform him that his Chief Executive Assistant is creating a hostile workplace environment by sexually harassing you..."

"No way in hell am I going to do that!"

"Three: you follow this plan. Think of it this way... he's been stepping out of line by harassing you for his own amusement. You're just giving him a taste of his own medicine. If it really bothers you about being deceptive, then the next time you see him admit you remember something about it and apologize for your 'drunken' behavior. Either way, he'll stop harassing you. Trust me, it's practically foolproof!"

Suoh narrowed his eyes at Yamato. " 'It's practically foolproof'... those are known to be famous last words."

**. . . . .**

**. .**

* * *

_**Next: Suoh's Revenge, Part 2**_

_Note: The name of the pub translated to English is "The Sentry"_


	7. Chapter 7

**.**

**Suoh's Revenge, Part 2**

**. .**

**. . . . .**

Looking at his schedule, Kirishima noted that Asami would be leaving early for the day. "Early" for Asami meant he wanted to be home by 10:00 pm, which until very recently would have been shockingly early for him. Lately, he had been making an effort to try to be home at a decent hour once a week. Kirishima had no doubt that this had everything to do with Takaba- not Kirishima minded. On the days Asami chose to leave early, he would be in a relatively good mood. Besides, it was also nice for Kirishima to be able to get off of work early once in a while.

Pulling up Suoh's schedule on the computer, Kirishima saw that Suoh had been assigned to the warehouse for the morning and afternoon, and then he would be working a short evening shift as Sion's security doorman beginning at 6:00 pm. That shift would be ending at 11:00 pm.

Kirishima realized he had been holding his breath. He let it out in a long sigh. Both he and Suoh would be getting off of work at a decent hour tonight. There was no reason they couldn't meet up for their long-overdue talk. Suoh had made a huge effort to try to help him, but for some reason Kirishima had been keeping him at a distance. At first, it had been fun for Kirishima to tease and embarrass Suoh, but now he had to question his own motives. Why was he doing such a thing to his colleague?

_It's because of what happened on the island. Even though I was drunk and can't remember it, I'm bothered by the fact that I still didn't hesitate to do it._

Kirishima couldn't figure out what would have compelled him to do something so out of line. He simply was not attracted to other men, but the dream he had last night seemed to indicate otherwise.

_Under that tough facade, there's a surprisingly warm and caring person. It's something he rarely shows to other people... but he has always shown it towards me, hasn't he?_

_Does that mean I'm... special to Suoh?_

That thought made him feel uncomfortable. They were colleagues and nothing more. Well, perhaps something a little more. It did seem like they had become close friends over the years.

_I am angry at myself for doing what I did to Suoh. I've been unfairly blaming him for bringing out this strange desire in me. That's why I've been humiliating him. I've been punishing him for it, and..._

_And for pressuring me to confront my fears about Julio._

To be open about his fears would be like stripping himself naked in front of someone. It wasn't something he wanted to do, but if there was anyone he could trust with his fears, it was Suoh. Time and time again they had stood by each others side as they dealt with the ugliness that came with being involved with the underworld.

_I've wronged him when all he'd ever done was try to help. I owe him a huge apology. It's time for me to confront this problem head-on._

_Tonight._

**. . . . .**

The reason for Suoh being at the warehouse was merely for a show of force. Since Asami began assigning a large group of men to be present at the warehouse, from the time the shipments came in to the time they left the warehouse, they hadn't had any trouble. The problem was that it had been stretching his workforce rather thin. Many of them, like Suoh, had been working double shifts. Fortunately, the goods sitting in the warehouse at the moment were being shipped out that afternoon, so they wouldn't need to have a full contingent of guards there again for a couple more weeks.

Suoh and Yamato were watching the cargo being loaded on what looked like a mid-sized commercial fishing trawler. This vessel would be meeting up with another boat which was waiting for it out at sea. After another transfer of goods, the waiting boat would then be heading to a port somewhere in Malaysia.

"I am SO glad this shipment is finally going out! I'm looking forward to having a break. I'm going to get drunk and hopefully hook up with a very horny guy! What about you?"

Suoh looked a bit pale. "I'm thinking about trying out that plan tonight..."

Yamato looked closely at Suoh. "Are you feeling all right? You don't look so good."

"I'm nervous as hell about this! I'm not sure if I can pull it off."

"Well, not if you're acting like that! Tell me about your plan."

"Asami sets aside one day a week that he goes home early. It's tonight, so that means Kirishima will be off as well. I've arranged for someone to cover the last hour of my shift at Sion tonight, so we'll be getting off work around the same time. I was thinking of inviting him over to my place for dinner, and then pretending to have too much to drink..." Suoh broke out in a light sweat. "This is never going to work! I don't even know if he'll accept the invitation. He's been steadily turning me down so far..."

"Yeah, coming over to your place might be just a little too obvious under the circumstances. You should find a quiet bar, or some out-of-the-way place like that."

"I can't do something like that with other people around! No... it's gotta be at my place, or else I'll never be able to do it."

**. . . . .**

Kirishima had been called into Asami's office. When he entered, Asami was talking on the phone. "... it won't be possible for me tonight. He'll be getting in late, and then he has to catch a connecting flight first thing in the morning... Of course this is for 'normal' business..."

"Oh... you're fine with it. I see... yes... With your friends? Then don't stay out too late... Yes, I know you're an adult... but..." Asami pulled the phone away from his ear, frowned at it, and then replaced it in its base.

From the expression on his face, Kirishima guessed that Asami had just called off his rendezvous with Takaba, but Takaba clearly was not as disappointed as Asami was. Though he kept his own face expressionless, Kirishima felt a sadistic bit of amusement at watching the powerful man in front of him, who was accustomed to having things go his way, at a complete loss when it came to Takaba.

Asami closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, obviously irritated. "I'm going to need you to accompany me tonight. It seems I have an impromptu meeting with one of our foreign investors around midnight."

"Yes, sir."

Kirishima felt a little bit irritated himself.

_So much for tonight..._

**. . . . .**

Once the paperwork had been completed for the outgoing shipment, Suoh, Yamato, and Mayeda headed downtown to Sion's offices to report to Asami and to turn in the manifest.

"No problems this time around?" Asami asked as he looked over the paperwork.

"Everything went smoothly," Suoh replied, "but that was expected since we had a lot of men present the entire time."

Asami laid the papers down and looked up at his men. "I can't keep stationing that many men around every time we have to deal with a new shipment without arousing suspicion from the authorities."

"We're taking care of that, sir," Suoh said. "We're working on setting up a trap for that gang. Once we know who they are, I guarantee they won't be troubling you again."

"I'll leave it to you, then. I have nothing else for you... your men can stand down for the day."

"Thank you, sir."

Suoh, Yamato, and Mayeda exited out to a waiting area where Kirishima's desk was located. They could hear the rapid tapping sounds of Kirishima typing on the computer. He appeared to be totally engrossed in his work.

Mayeda stretched his arms above his head and sighed. "Hot damn... time off! I'm definitely going out tonight!"

Yamato elbowed Suoh, who looked at him in surprise. "What?"

Yamato gave him a meaningful look and then cocked his head toward Kirishima. "Oh..." Suoh mumbled before taking a deep breath.

"Hey, Kirishima," Suoh said, surprising himself by how steady and casual his voice sounded. "I only have to work Sion's door for a few hours tonight. What do you say we go out afterwards for a drink..."

"Sorry, I can't tonight," Kirishima snapped irritably as he continued typing. "I'll be working late." Kirishima suddenly paused and looked up as he became aware of the tone of his voice. He realized Suoh might think he was annoyed by the offer, but in reality Kirishima was frustrated because he really HAD intended to meet up with Suoh after work until he had been tasked with accompanying Asami.

Kirishima looked up at Suoh apologetically, "Next time I have a clear spot in my schedule..." He stopped, realizing that had sounded even worse, which to his chagrin was exactly the way Suoh took it.

"Of course," Suoh said, his speech turning uncharacteristically polite. "Perhaps another time. I am sorry to have bothered you."

Yamato watched as Suoh turned to exit the office and knew he was pissed off. "Suoh! Let me treat you tonight. I know this really cool place..."

"Yeah, why not..." Suoh replied as he opened the door.

"I'll come by and pick you up after your shift ends..." Yamato called out as Suoh walked out the door.

Yamato turned back around and saw Kirishima giving him a rather sharp glance before looking back down. Kirishima picked up a pen and began writing on one of the papers that was in front of him.

_Interesting..._ Yamato thought.

"Hey!" Mayeda called out. "I want to go too! What time should we meet...?"

"You can't!" Yamato blurted out. "Not tonight... okay?" After witnessing what had just passed between Suoh and Kirishima, Yamato was concerned and wanted a chance to calm Suoh down. He certainly couldn't do that with Mayeda around.

Mayeda pouted before slowly breaking out in a grin. "Ohh... sounds like you want to be alone with Suoh."

_I do, but not in the way you're insinuating, _Yamato thought as he rolled his eyes. He glanced back at Kirishima, wondering if he had overheard Mayeda's remark.

He watched as Kirishima's grip noticeably tightened on the pen.

Yamato smiled slyly. _Very interesting._

**. . . . .**

Yamato came by Sion at 10:00 pm, but Suoh had stubbornly decided to work extra hours and didn't end up getting off until midnight. He listened to Suoh rant about Kirishima as he was changing into his street clothes in the back room. His rant went on as they walked out of the building, continued all the way on the ride to the bar, and was still going on even as Yamato ordered them a pitcher of beer.

Yamato poured the beer for Suoh. Suoh paused in his rant long enough to down the glass, and then carried on with the rant in his next breath.

Yamato refilled Suoh's glass.

_What a dreadful mess, _Yamato thought as he shook his head.

**. . . . .**

Kirishima felt his cell phone buzzing in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw the caller was "Suoh Kazumi". Suoh rarely called Kirishima's cell.

_I wonder if there's been trouble?_

He stepped quietly out of the hotel room where Asami was meeting with his client, and answered it.

"Ah! Kirishima? It's Yamato. Umm... are you still at work?"

"I'm with Asami right now. What's the problem?"

"Oh. You really DID have to work late... I mean... Sorry to bother you! I'll let you get back to it..."

"What is it, Yamato? Why are you calling me on Suoh's phone?"

"That... well, I'm out with Suoh right now and... he's had a lot to drink. I mean, he's REALLLY had A LOT! And the problem is... I don't know how I'm going to get him home... but I'll figure out something. Sorry again for bothering you..."

"The meeting should be wrapping up soon. Where are you right now?"

"It's a bar called Rumors, in Shinjuku..."

Kirishima's eyes narrowed as Yamato told him the address.

** . . . . .**

Kirishima parked his car directly alongside the front entrance. Yamato was outside the bar smoking a cigarette, waiting for him. Seeing Kirishima, he sighed and threw down his cigarette, grinding the butt out with his heel. They both entered the bar.

Suoh was sitting at the bar with the bartender standing nearby, as well as two other men who were sitting on either side of him. They appeared to be listening intently to Suoh as he spoke loudly. "...and then this drunken idiot comes BACK! Except now he has a bullwhip with him. So he's cracking it and laughing maniacally at us... 'COME ON YOU BASTARDS! BRING IT ON...' "

"A bullwhip?!" The bartender said incredulously. "That guy really WAS nuts!"

"I know, right?! It took four of us to take the whip away from him AND pin him down. FOUR of us! And I'm thinking, it can't be JUST alcohol he's on..." Suoh stopped, looking wide-eyed as Yamato and Kirishima approached him. "Kirishima?! What are you doing here?"

Kirishima put his hand on Suoh's shoulder. "We had a date, remember?"

"Hey!" said one of the guys sitting next to Suoh. "You said you were straight!"

"Oh, it's not a DATE-date... in fact, it's not anything." Suoh brushed Kirishima's hand off his shoulder. "I don't know this guy. I'm going to leave now..." Suoh tried to stand up but stumbled and fell back onto the bar stool. Both Yamato and Kirishima helped him to stand up.

"That would probably be for the best," Kirishima said quietly. "We'll give you a ride home."

Suoh grinned at Kirishima, "That's nice of you." His grin turned into a scowl. "Don't be nice. I want to stay mad at you."

"I'm not the good guy here. Yamato's the one who arranged for your ride. I'm just the driver."

Suoh grinned at Yamato. "You're good kid... you know that?"

Yamato rolled his eyes. "I'm not a kid, but thanks for the... compliment."

They helped Suoh out of the bar and put him in the passenger seat of Kirishima's car. Yamato's phone rang as they were doing this, so he pulled it out and cradled it between the side of his head and his shoulder as he and Kirishima struggled to fasten Suoh's seat belt.

"Yes... what is it? Oh, hey Tamaki! Look... I'm a little busy right now. I'll call you back in a bit..." The belt clicked as it was fastened, and Yamato stood back up. "She left you again? I'm not surprised... what did you say to her this time? Yes, I know you had to have said SOMETHING stupid to cause it. What? NO... I am not coming over to comfort you!" Yamato growled into the phone before pushing the button to end the call. He slammed the passenger door shut and leaned back against the car, exasperated.

Kirishima was sweating slightly after the effort to get Suoh into the car. He removed his suit jacket and tie and tossed them both into the back seat. He turned back to Yamato and crossed his arms, giving him a stern look. "You took Suoh to a gay bar?"

Yamato looked at Kirishima, offended. "It's a nice place! It's not like a pick-up bar, or anything like that." He shrugged, "It seemed like a good idea at the time..." He looked off into the distance frowning.

"You need to be somewhere else right now, don't you?"

Yamato sighed heavily. "You're going to need my help getting Suoh back out of the car."

"I can handle Suoh on my own."

"You sure about that?" Yamato smirked. "This rift that's developed between you two..."

"Has he talked to you about that? Yes, that was my own doing," Kirishima nodded. "I'm going to fix it."

"Good." Yamato tried to look stern back at Kirishima but he couldn't hold back a smile. He turned and looked affectionately at Suoh, who had apparently passed out in the car. "He doesn't look like the type, does he? But he really has a big heart."

Kirishima also glanced at Suoh.

"I know."

** . . . . .**

"Keys..." Kirishima patiently prompted Suoh.

"Keys... let's see..." Suoh slowly pulled a key out of his pocket and tried to put it in the lock. After a few attempts in which the key came nowhere near the keyhole, Kirishima took the key from him.

"Oh forget it... I'll just sleep here," Suoh said, leaning up against the wall and closing his eyes as Kirishima opened the door.

"No, you can't sleep in the hallway." Kirishima helped him inside. "Can you get your shoes off, or do you need help with that?"

Suoh tried to bend down to take his shoes off but began to lose his balance. Kirishima steadied him before he could fall.

"Maybe I should sit down to take my shoes off, eh?" Suoh grinned.

"No, I'd never be able to get you back up again."

"It's fine..." Suoh slurred slowly. "You can just leave me here. Thank you for all your hard work..."

"Leave you to pass out on the floor next to the door? You'd catch a cold and then I'd be forced to cover both your job and mine. Just kick them off."

Kirishima managed to hold Suoh upright as he kicked his shoes off. Suoh swayed as Kirishima struggled to hold him up. "Heh... we dance well together, huh?"

"Except you're stepping on my toes, sweetheart. Where's your bedroom?"

"Ohh... my bedroom! This way, I'll show you..." Suoh started for the hallway, mashing on a light panel to light up the dark hallway as Kirishima held onto his arm to steady him. His bedroom was just on the right. Kirishima helped him toward the bed and felt Suoh sway once more, but this time he fell against Kirishima with his full weight, making it nearly impossible for Kirishima to hold him up.

Kirishima tried to plant his feet firmly to keep them both from falling down, when he felt Suoh grab a hold of him with a strong grip and then quickly swing him around. Kirishima suddenly found himself flat on his back on the bed with Suoh straddling him. Suoh had a tight grip on his wrists, effectively pinning him down on the bed.

_What the...?!_

The bedroom was only illuminated by the hallway light, but it was enough light for him to make out Suoh's face looking down at him with a smirk.

"Suoh... let me up," Kirishima said in a calm, yet very firm voice.

"Oh, what do we have here? The devious Kirishima Kei has managed to slip into my bed! Okay... I finally get it. I owe you for... for that thing you did to me, isn't that right? So I'm going to take responsibility now and repay that debt.

Kirishima frowned, "I think you're misunderstanding..."

"No, I understand perfectly. I'm sorry... I'm such an IDIOT for not realizing it sooner. That's really why you've been coming onto me so strongly, isn't it? More than necessary just to tease and embarrass me."

"I WAS only trying to embarrass you. I was having fun making you blush. It was wrong..."

"Yes it was... but do you really want to know the truth? You've been lying to yourself, Kirishima. Why else would you suddenly act so unprofessional on the job? It's not like you. I think deep down inside you want this. That's what's been driving you to do all those crazy things."

"You totally have the wrong idea, Suoh..." Kirishima tried reasoning with him. "It's not that..."

"You're not the only one. I've been denying it too... but I've reached my limit. I can't hold back anymore." Suoh leaned down closer to Kirishima. "Do you know in all the time I've known you, I've never seen you blush?"

"That's because I don't blush, you idiot!" Kirishima growled.

"I want to make you blush, Kirishima... I want to get you SO hot that you..."

"FINE! Just do it then!"

Suoh looked at him, surprised. "Huh? Really?"

Kirishima angrily wrestled his hands away from Suoh. Reaching down, he undid his belt, then unbuttoned and unzipped his trousers. He put his hands up next to his head as if surrendering, and looked away from Suoh.

"Go on... get it over with," Kirishima sighed in resignation. "Then we can call it even, and put an end to this damned thing!"

**. . . . .**

Suoh, who was indeed somewhat drunk but still perfectly aware and in control of what he was doing, looked down at Kirishima in utter shock.

_Well Yamato, I called his bluff all right... but I never thought that he might call MINE...!_

**. . . . .**

**. .**

* * *

**Next: Suoh's Revenge, Part 3**


	8. Chapter 8

**.**

**Suoh's Revenge, Part 3**

**. . **

**. . . . .**

Suoh looked down at Kirishima, who he had pinned down on his bed. Kirishima's face was turned to the side but Suoh could make out his profile by the hallway light, which was streaming into the darkened bedroom through the open door.

Kirishima had an aggravated expression on his face. He'd undone his own pants and surrendered.

At the moment, Suoh was trying to figure out how to get himself out of the mess he had gotten himself into. Unfortunately, the amount of alcohol he had consumed earlier, coupled with Kirishima unexpectedly giving in, made it difficult for him to think clearly.

"What are you waiting for?" Kirishima smirked. "Are you beginning to realize how foolish you're acting?"

_If I back down now, he will forever hold this over my head,_ Suoh thought. _But I can't possibly do this... not to Kirishima!_

Suoh looked down at Kirishima's undone pants. The shirt was tucked in, so Suoh decided to buy himself more time to think by slowly pulling the shirt out. Once he did that, he could see Kirishima's underwear peeking out through his unfastened pants.

_I should stop what I'm doing now..._

Kirishima turned to look at him. "You're deliberately stalling. You didn't expect me to give in, did you? You should know better than to..."

Annoyed by Kirishima interrupting his thoughts, Suoh quickly covered Kirishima's mouth with his hand. "Stop talking."

He removed his hand and pulled Kirishima's shirt up enough to expose his lower abdomen. "I just like to take my time... that's all." He ran his hand lightly over Kirishima's stomach, feeling the firm muscles tighten. He felt Kirishima jump at his touch. _  
_

"Ticklish?" Suoh teased.

"Get on with it, already!" Kirishima growled.

_Heh... this is kind of fun._ Suoh ran his fingers from the right side all the way across to the left. The muscles tensed again, and Kirishima squirmed uncomfortably.

_He's definitely ticklish. How cute!_

On Kirishima's left side just under the ribs, Suoh felt a circular depression with a rough texture in the middle. He ran his fingers over it again. "This place... is this were you were shot in Hong Kong?"

Kirishima sighed with exasperation. "Yes..."

"Does it still hurt?"

"No, actually it's kind of numb."

Suoh touched the spot again with his fingertip. "You took a bullet for Takaba... you're such a loyal assistant."

"You would have done the same..." Kirishima suddenly jumped as Suoh bent down and lightly brushed his lips against the spot.

Suoh looked up at Kirishima and smirked, "I guess it's not THAT numb."

"Would you stop this nonsense and just get on with it?" Kirishima snapped irritably.

"Don't be so impatient," Suoh said, grinning. _Getting revenge this way is much better than my original plan. Let's see how much YOU like being teased!_

Suoh ran his fingers under Kirishima's shirt to tickle his chest. He heard a soft gasp.

Suoh frowned. _That didn't seem like a ticklish reaction._

This time Suoh deliberately ran his fingers over one of Kirishima's nipples. Again Kirishima shifted his body slightly, except this time he let out a short grunt.

Suoh raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Does that feel... good to you?"

"Damn it Suoh! I said just the blow j-..."

Grinning mischievously, Suoh ran his whole hand across Kirishima's chest. He watched as Kirishima arched up in response and twisted his head to the side. Suoh heard Kirishima curse softly, before turning back to glare at him.

"You're going to bend your glasses if you keep doing that," Suoh chuckled. "Here..." he reached up to remove Kirishima's glasses, being very careful not to bend them as he pulled them off. He folded them carefully and placed them on the table next to the bed.

Kirishima was still glaring at him, but the face staring back at him now looked a little different. The area beneath his eyes appeared dark. Suoh moved closer for a better look.

"Are you having trouble sleeping again? You have dark circles under your eyes."

"You're probably just seeing shadows caused by the poor lighting in here," Kirishima replied back angrily.

Suoh kept studying Kirishima's face._ He's a surprisingly good looking man. It's too bad he hides his face behind those glasses. _

_Oh..._ Suoh felt his body flush with arousal._ I shouldn't have taken his glasses off._

_I REALLY shouldn't have done that..._

Suoh pulled Kirishima's shirt up all the way, exposing his chest. He bent down and ran his tongue roughly around the nipple. Kirishima moaned and sighed, giving Suoh the impression that he was surrendering to the sensations. He began trailing his tongue down to Kirishima's stomach, listening to Kirishima's gasps in reaction. He felt Kirishima's hands on his head, trying to push him down lower...

**. . . . .**

The last thing Kirishima had expected was for Suoh to push him down onto the bed. He tried reasoning with Suoh, but Suoh was clearly drunk and Kirishima knew it was probably futile to try to reason with someone in that state of mind. It was easier just to give in and let him give the damn blow job.

At first when Suoh hesitated, Kirishima thought he might be coming to his senses. Somewhere in that drunk head of Suoh's, common sense must be telling him this was not something he would normally do. Kirishima took advantage of that moment to try to shame Suoh into backing off, but instead it seemed to strengthen Suoh's resolve.

Kirishima felt Suoh pull his shirt up and then run his hand across his stomach. His large, warm, and roughly callused hand lightly caressed his stomach. The way it felt completely shocked Kirishima.

_His hand... it feels incredibly erotic..._

Suoh ran his fingers across Kirishima's midsection. Again Kirishima felt his body react; only not as strongly as it had to Suoh's whole hand. Kirishima tried distracting himself by running the gross and net profit numbers from the last month's take at Club Sion through his mind.

His concentration was blown by Suoh bending down and kissing the spot where he had been shot. _What the hell is that drunken fool thinking?!_

Kirishima felt him reach under his shirt. That sensually warm, rough hand that caressed his chest was surprisingly gentle. The sensation felt strange and wonderful.

_This is crazy... I can't stop my body from reacting to this!  
_

Then Suoh removed his glasses. Suoh was close enough that Kirishima could see his expression. It was one of desire.

_Just like in my dream...  
_

For moment Suoh's face was close to his. Too close.

But then Suoh bent down and Kirishima felt his hot tongue against his skin.

_Oh, what the hell..._ Kirishima shuddered as he willingly gave into the wonderful sensations that Suoh was provoking. _I want to feel that lower..._ He tried pushing Suoh's head down lower and Suoh offered no resistance to this demand.

Suoh tugged at the waistband of Kirishima's underwear, pulling it down. "You're hard..." he said, sounding surprised.

_No kidding, you idiot!_

He felt Suoh's tongue swirl around his erection before his hot mouth enveloped him. Kirishima heard his own voice breaking from his throat in reaction to the pleasure he was experiencing. He didn't even try to hold it back.

_He's too good at this! Could it be... this is not the first time he's done this?!_

Kirishima reached down and grabbed onto Suoh's hair, and suddenly had a brief flashback of his dream again. Suoh had reached down and grabbed Kirishima's hair in the same way, then called out his name... his GIVEN name... before coming.

_Was that just in my dream or is this an actual memory from that night?_

"Suoh... that night on the island..." Kirishima asked breathlessly, "did you call me by my first name?"

Suoh stopped and lifted his head to look at Kirishima. He smirked, "Would you like to hear me call out your name?"

"Hell no...!" Kirishima closed his eyes and let the waves of pleasure come over him as Suoh took him in his mouth once again.

Once Kirishima was spent, he felt Suoh resting his head against his thigh. Suoh was also breathing hard, but eventually his breathing calmed and then Kirishima heard a snore come from him.

Relieved, Kirishima carefully pushed Suoh off of him and then stood up, redid his trousers and tucked his shirt back in. He was glad Suoh had passed out so he wouldn't have to try dealing with a very large, drunk and aroused bodyguard.

Before Kirishima left the bedroom, he snatched his glasses off the table and glanced at Suoh who was snoring on the bed. _I wonder how he will react once he wakes up and remembers what happened. _Kirishima smiled sadistically._ He'll no doubt be mortified by what he's done._

Kirishima felt a small pang of guilt. _I'm the one who allowed it to happen. I might have just made this situation worse._

Kirishima worried about this as he walked to his car. Once inside, he pulled out a cloth to clean his glasses expecting them to be smudged with Suoh's fingerprints.

But as he held them up to the light to inspect them, he couldn't see a single smudge. They were perfectly clean.

_Amazing how he was so drunk he couldn't even stand up, and yet he was able to remove my glasses without damaging them. Even when he's sober, he can be kind of clumsy if he's not intentionally careful..._

Kirishima's eyes narrowed as the realization hit him.

**. . . . .**

Back in the bedroom, Suoh rolled over and groaned. His body was on fire. He did indeed feel mortified, but it was because at that very moment he could think of nothing else but how much he had wanted to take Kirishima Kei.

He covered his eyes with his hands.

_I should've never ventured down that path._

**. . . . .**

The following day, Suoh was at one of the clubs helping to unload cases of liquor from a delivery truck when he heard the text tone go off on his phone. Checking it, he read: "Report to Kirishima Kei in Boardroom 1 immediately". Suoh sighed and pocketed the phone. Though there could be any number of reasons he might receive such a message, he had a good idea what this was going to be about.

He quickly made his way down to Sion's offices, going over in his mind the possible scenarios he could be facing. He had no doubt he would be subjected to Kirishima's wrath. Suoh was certain whatever payback Kirishima had in mind for him was going to be painful in some way.

_I was drunk... I was SO drunk I didn't know what the hell I was doing..._ Suoh thought, trying to come up with a reasonable defense. If he had to, he would remind Kirishima of what he had done to HIM when he'd had too much to drink.

When he entered the office he saw Yamato sitting outside the meeting room. He looked nervous.

"You got called here, too?" Suoh remarked as he sat next to Yamato.

"There's been a complaint filed against me... complicity in the sexual assault of a Sion employee." Yamato lowered his voice. "Suoh... what the hell happened after I left you two last night?!"

Suoh sat down and lowered his face into his hands. "Ohhh... I might have gone too far..."

"Too far? How far is too far?!"

"Hey! I didn't do anything he hadn't already done to me!"

"You didn't like... touch him, right?" Yamato whispered. When Suoh didn't answer Yamato stammered, "Y-you didn't actually give him a blow job, did you? Suoh?!" Suoh remained silent as Yamato threw his arms up in the air. "I TOLD you that I thought you'd had too much to drink!"

"I wasn't THAT drunk!" Suoh furiously whispered back. "I just needed a little bit in me to give me the courage to carry out the plan. And it wasn't the alcohol... it's just that Kirishima..." he trailed off.

"Kirishima... what?"

"He reacted. I mean, he suddenly turned into this amazingly sexy creature..."

"How many times have I told you? NEVER have sex with your co-workers... or your boss, for that matter!"

Suoh looked around apprehensively, "Shhh!"

Yamato took a deep breath, then looked back at Suoh and lowered his voice again. "Well? Did you enjoy yourself?" he asked sarcastically.

Suoh looked down and shrugged, but a smile began to spread across his face.

"Forget I asked. He must have figured it all out. Shit! We're going to be fired, aren't we?"

"No, I know him. He won't do that. He'll call us in and try to scare us with some kind of threat, but it will never go on record. Just play along and show remorse, and everything should be fine..."

The door opened and Kirishima came out holding a clipboard. "Suoh Kazumi... will you please step inside?"

"Good luck..." Suoh heard Yamato mumble softly. Suoh got up and walked toward the open door. Just before he entered, he turned to Yamato and gave him a wink.

**. . . . .**

When Suoh entered the boardroom, he was shocked to see a woman seated in there with a laptop in front of her.

"Please sit down Suoh." Kirishima pointed toward a chair that had a microphone in front of it. Kirishima walked over to where the woman was seated and stood near her.

Suoh recognized the woman. She was a legal assistant for one of their attorneys. It was her job to record all official business meetings.

Kirishima turned to the woman. "Please note the time and date... 28 September, 11:53 am. Suoh Kazumi, employed by Sion Group has been accused of sexual harassment and the sexual assault of another employee, Kirishima Kei, while he was still on duty."

Suoh sat there in stunned disbelief.

"Do you deny any of the charges?"

"I... you were still on duty?!"

Kirishima replied grimly. "Please note that the accused does not deny these charges." Kirishima walked over to Suoh and looked down at him. "It seems I was called away from Asami's side to assist another employee that was reported to be in trouble at a local drinking establishment."

Suoh, who was now in total shock, didn't answer.

"The accused appeared to be intoxicated, but upon further investigation it seems he was merely acting drunk to deceive me. Do you deny this?'

Suoh swallowed hard. "No."

Kirishima's eyebrow twitched slightly. _I wasn't absolutely sure of that until just now._

"After I delivered the accused employee to his home safely, he physically restrained me and forced oral sex upon me... against my will. Do you dispute any of these facts?"

He could see Suoh struggling with this. _I did end up giving my consent, though. How will you answer, Suoh?_

Kirishima leaned forward in anticipation, wagering in his mind that Suoh would refuse to discredit him in his defense.

Suoh began breaking out in a sweat. He looked down and answered quietly. "No."

Kirishima almost smiled at this. "What was that? I couldn't hear you. Could you please speak up?"

"Kirishima-san..." the recording secretary said, as she stood up. "I think this is enough. It's one thing to want to play a prank on one of your colleagues but I think you've taken this thing too far. This man is obviously in distress!"

"I intended to take this much further, but you may be right," Kirishima chuckled. "He doesn't look so good, does he?"

The recording secretary shot him a look of disapproval before exiting the room. "You know, I have better things to do with my time..."

"Oh fuck..." Suoh let out his breath, and nervously wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his sleeve. "You are seriously evil...!"

"NOW we can call it even. I'll stop harassing you, and you can stop your transparent efforts at trying to pay me back for it."

"Deal..." Suoh said as he stood up. "You honestly didn't care if she heard about the stuff we did?!"

"You'd be shocked at the kind of things she knows."

Suoh brought his hand up. "Look at that... I'm actually shaking! Listen, don't put Yamato through this. I was the one responsible..."

"Oh, he won't be getting off that easily. I went back to that little bar of his, and what do you know... they wanted to know if Yamato's 'practical joke' had succeeded. I'll be teaching him a lesson as well..."

He stopped talking when he noticed Suoh was staring at him strangely. The next thing he knew, Suoh had lunged at him and pinned him against the wall. One of Suoh's hands was around his throat; not choking him, but his firm grip startled Kirishima.

Suoh studied Kirishima's face, and then his own reddened in anger. Not just any kind of anger, but a look Kirishima had seen once before; just before Suoh had ended the life of one of their enemies.

_This is no act! Did I finally push him too far?!_ Kirishima thought in a panic.

Suoh nodded. "I'm going to put an end to this." He slowly released his grip on Kirishima and turned towards the door. "You will not punish Yamato unnecessarily for something that I am responsible for. Are we in agreement?"

"If you insist," Kirishima answered flippantly, even though inside he felt shaken up.

"I'm glad to hear it," Suoh replied before walking out the door.

**. . . . .**

The next day Kirishima sat at his desk, almost in a daze. Again, the nightmares had come on with a vengeance during the night and he had barely gotten any sleep. He'd attempted several times to call Suoh to try to talk with him, but Suoh wasn't answering. He finally went over to one the other secretaries and asked her to pull up Suoh's schedule so he could locate him.

"It looks like Suoh's on personal leave," she told him.

"Since when?!" Kirishima walked over to her side of the desk so he could see the computer screen. Suoh's schedule showed the entire week blocked off for leave.

_He must have felt he needed some time to cool off, Kirishima thought. I suppose that's a good thing... he was a little scary yesterday._

Staring at the calendar on the screen, he could see someone else also had the entire week blocked off. "Two people taking a week off at the same time? That could present a problem... whose schedule is that?"

Closing his eyes, he knew before the secretary had the chance to answer.

"Yamato..."

**. . . . . **

**. .**

* * *

**Next... the conclusion of "Suoh's Revenge"**

_NEVER piss off the big guy...  
_


	9. Chapter 9

_Hello... it's almost been a year since I've added to this. I was going to drop it since there didn't seem to be that much interest in it, but a couple of readers have been *gently* prodding me to continue this story. So here we are again._

_I really enjoy writing about Kirishima and Suoh. Thanks for the push!_

* * *

**Feint**

**. . **

**. . . . .**

Suoh shifted awkwardly as he tried to find a comfortable position in the cramped airplane seat. The petite person sitting next to him did not have the same problem. Not only that, but the smaller man had also fallen asleep leaning up against Suoh, which made him feel even more confined. Suoh glanced at Yamato and sighed.

_Well, at least one of us is comfortable... _

Suoh tried distracting himself by staring out of the window but there was really nothing to see- just an endless dark blue ocean below. He leaned his head against the window, closed his eyes and thought back to what had happened the day before.

Of course he had known Kirishima would exact revenge for the trick they had pulled on him, but Suoh had been stunned by the sheer viciousness of it.

_Sitting in the board room and being grilled in front of the recording secretary- IN DETAIL- about those things I did to Kirishima... that was pure hell! I'll definitely think twice before going up against THAT sadistic bastard again._

The relief he'd felt when it was revealed the whole meeting had been a cruel prank on Kirishima's part, was cut short when he found out Kirishima intended to put Yamato through the same torture. Suoh was determined to talk Kirishima out of it, but Kirishima wouldn't hear of it. In fact, he wouldn't even meet Suoh's eye.

It was then Suoh realized something was oddly off about Kirishima.

Kirishima finally turned to look at him and Suoh noticed there was something strange about his eyes. He tried to get a closer look, but Kirishima turned his face away before he could see.

Annoyed by Kirishima's obvious ploy to avoid looking at him directly, Suoh suddenly lunged with a speed that caught Kirishima by surprise. He pinned Kirishima against the wall and grabbed his chin to prevent him from turning his head away. It had been difficult to tell with the fluorescent lights reflecting off his glasses, but now he could see it clearly. There were dark shadows under his eyes and his pupils were abnormally dilated from prolonged stress and anxiety.

_Is this about that South American Capo's captain again? You still think Julio's a threat? Even at this distance...?_

_You hear alarm bells going off in your head... that's what's making you crazy, isn't it?_

A low rage began to grow within Suoh. _Enough already...! _

Suoh opened his eyes and stared out the airplane window again. A lone wisp of cloud floated by.

_I'm gonna silence those alarm bells for you._

_Permanently._

**. . . . .**

Kirishima's nightmares continued to plague him night after night. He finally gave up trying to lie down in bed and spent his long evenings sitting in a recliner, reading. He would nod-off several times during the night, managing to snatch 10-minute stretches of sleep at a time before being jolted awake yet again by bad dreams.

Even still, he thought he was getting enough sleep to get by.

Unfortunately, as the week progressed, Kirishima caught himself making small errors. Most of the time he was able to fix them without anyone knowing, but he knew some of the staff was beginning to notice. His downfall came when he was participating in a meeting with Asami and the CEO of an overseas company. Kirishima had addressed the CEO by the wrong name.

He repeated the same mistake again a few minutes later, which earned him a significant side-long glance from Asami. Kirishima apologized quickly, and mentally repeated the man's name in his mind, over and over, so it wouldn't happen a third time.

After the meeting ended, Asami asked Kirishima to remain behind. Kirishima began to apologize for his mistake, but Asami held his hand up and stopped him.

"You're not looking well, Kirishima. When's the last time you took some time off?"

"I'm fine... I didn't sleep well last night. Tomorrow, I'll—"

Asami slowly shook his head. "You won't be here tomorrow, nor the day after that. You're taking the rest of the week off."

"Sir, that won't be necessary—" Kirishima began to protest, but he was quickly silenced by a sharp look from Asami. He knew there was to be no further discussion about it. He felt completely humiliated, but he managed to keep his expression neutral so it wouldn't show. "Yes sir." Kirishima knew Suoh was supposed to be returning to work the next day. "I'll arrange for Suoh to take over for me while I'm off. Will that be all, sir?"

Asami gave him a quick nod before reaching for his cigarettes. Kirishima turned to leave.

"Kirishima..."

Kirishima stopped and turned back around. "Sir?"

Asami lit his cigarette. He raised his eyes and gave Kirishima a piercing look. As he exhaled, a cloud of smoke created a hazy fog between them. "Give me your gun."

This order stung Kirishima hard, but he kept his expression blank as he reached into his suit and pulled out his gun. He laid it on Asami's desk.

Asami drew on his cigarette again and exhaled, causing the fog to become denser. "I mean it when I said you're taking the week off. You're no use to me in the condition you're in right now."

Asami gave him a wry smile, "You should take your leave somewhere along the ocean. I happen to know of a rather nice beach-side resort..."

Being reminded that he had pulled a similar stunt on his overworked boss a year ago, actually caused Kirishima to smile. "Yes sir. I know that place well..."

**. . . . .**

Kirishima sat at the table, staring at the clear plastic bag which contained a number of brightly colored pills.

"I highly recommend this," the foreign man had told him. "Not only will they help you sleep, but it will be a sleep SO deep, you won't even have dreams. It's a little expensive, but I promise you'll feel A LOT better after taking this..."

_And completely illegal, which probably means it has a high addiction rate._

Kirishima sighed.

_I have to get some sleep... my job depends on it!_

He opened the bag and fished out two pills. He held them in the palm of his hand and examined them.

_This is how it starts... trying to find a quick solution for a problem, but then you become dependent on it... _

Kirishima clenched his fist closed.

"Damn it!" he growled. He grabbed the bag and headed toward the bathroom. Once there, he shook the contents of the bag into the toilet, watching as the pills dropped into the water. He flushed.

_Well that was a total waste of money... I'll have to find another way._

He sat in the recliner and closed his eyes.

_Think of something calming... a green meadow with a gentle breeze blowing through the trees... the sounds of leaves rustling... insects buzzing... birdsong..._

Asami looked somewhat out of place among the greenery. His usual jungle consisted of paved streets and tall glass-covered buildings...

_At least he's safe in this place. Julio would NEVER think to look for him here!_

But then he saw the stalks of bamboo slightly part as the barrel of a rifle poked through. Glittering through the dense vegetation were a pair of eyes that he KNEW belonged to Julio. He ran toward Asami, but it felt like he was moving in slow-motion. He felt a surge of fear, thinking he would not be able to get there in time, but he did manage to reach Asami and shield him just before the sharp report of gunfire rang out. Kirishima prepared to fill the intense burn of bullets ripping through his body, but for some strange reason he didn't feel a thing. He turned his head toward the direction of the shooter, but he couldn't see anything because Suoh was standing in front of them, blocking his view.

Suoh fell to his knees. Blood began to seep through his shirt.

_YOU IDIOT! What did you do that for?! I had Asami fully protected!_

"And I'm protecting you..."

Suoh's voice woke him with a start. He expected to see Suoh standing in the room... but the darkened room was empty.

This new dream left him deeply troubled.

**. . . . .**

Kirishima was too restless. It was impossible to relax.

_I need to take a peek in the office just to make sure everything is running smoothly... and I want to see Suoh with my own eyes._

Kirishima had purposely taken a ring of keys with him. Of course other employees had spare keys, but his was the master key ring which held the keys to all the offices and nightclubs. Suoh would be needing it.

There was no doubt that Asami would see right through his ruse, but he knew Asami had a meeting scheduled downtown that afternoon, so he shouldn't be running into him.

Before he left, Kirishima realized he had dressed in a business suit out of habit. Knowing that he had to at least give the impression that he was on leave, he removed his blazer and tie, and unbuttoned the collar of his shirt.

Arriving at the office, he was surprised to see Chiba sitting at his desk instead of Suoh. Chiba was on the phone and looking somewhat haggard.

_Suoh's not here?!_

Kirishima felt a wave of uneasiness. Chiba finally hung up and the phone began to ring again immediately. He started to pick it up, but Kirishima placed his hand over Chiba's. "Let it go to voicemail..."

Chiba sat back in the chair and let out a breath. "It's been crazy here all morning! I don't suppose... you've been recalled from your vacation to take over...?" Chiba looked at him hopefully.

"No, I'm afraid not. I just forgot to drop off the keys. Where's Suoh?"

"Oh, we had another attempted break-in at the warehouse. We caught them in the act this time, but they've managed to run off. We're trying to track them down right now, but we're kind of short-handed... with Oda accompanying Asami, you on vacation, and then Yamato is—"

"I understand. I'll go find Suoh at the warehouse and see if I can lend a hand."

A panicked secretary burst into the office. "Chiba, the printer is down... AGAIN. And I need to print some paperwork... NOW!"

"Yeah, I'll get on that right away..." Chiba glanced wearily at the phone as it began to ring again.

Kirishima turned to the secretary. "Send a copy of your file to my computer. Chiba will use the printer in here to print out your report." He smiled reassuringly at Chiba, "Just take it one task at a time and you'll do just fine."

Chiba smiled back at Kirishima gratefully.

Kirishima couldn't resist. He frowned at him. "What are you waiting for, you idiot? Answer the phone!"

**. . . . .**

Kirishima arrived at the warehouse. He was surprised to find Yamato with his arm heavily bandaged and in a sling.

"What happened to you?" Kirishima asked.

"I got shot," Yamato replied.

"You already managed to get treated... and return back here?" Kirishima said as he looked at him, confused.

"Well..." Yamato quickly averted his gaze.

"Where's Suoh?"

"We caught three men trying to break in. Suoh—"

Just then, Nakano walked in with a smaller man. Nakano had the man's arm bent behind his back. The man kept his head down and was gasping hard as he struggled to break free.

"You keep that up, and you might accidentally break your arm..." Nakano said coolly. The man stopped struggling, but still kept his head down. He was trembling.

Mayeda burst in, panting, and frowned as he looked at Nakano. "Ah! You caught one of the weasels! No fair, you got youth on your side. I lost my guy... damn it... !"

Kirishima walked over and grabbed the man's hair and pulled his head back so he could get a good look at him. The face that stared back at him couldn't have been more than 16 years old. He had several piercings in his ears, one in each eyebrow and one through his lower lip.

_Eh?! It's just some punk kid..._

"Thanks Nakano, I'll take it from here..."

Nakano let go of the teen's arm. Kirishima grabbed him roughly and threw him against the corrugated metal wall. The impact made an impressive sound, which was just the effect Kirishima was after.

Kirishima placed his hand next to the teen's head and leaned in close to him. "I honestly have no patience for playing games today. You'll either spill everything you know right now, or I'll just assume you have no intention of talking. If that's the case, I can go ahead and start cracking bones now. My preferred method is to go from smallest to largest. Toes, fingers... one at at time.. then your arms, legs... you get it, right? I once accidentally killed someone trying to break his femur... you know, that big bone at the top of your leg? An artery busted and he bled out..."

The teen began speaking fast, in a trembling voice. "Th-this guy paid us 10,000 to act like we were breaking in here, an' then run when you guys saw us. H-he wanted us to draw the guards away from this place. He told us to keep you guys chasing us, but don't get caught, and if we could do that he would give us another 25,000..."

"What's the name of the man who hired you?"

"I-I don't know... I swear!" the teen flinched when he saw Kirishima's face break out in a scowl. "He never told us! He said we didn't need to know..."

"Who else was with you?"

"My-my friend... and the other guy, I don't know him. He was one of that guy's goons. He said to leave the biggest guard to him."

"We'll catch your friend here shortly. You care what happens to him, don't you?" The teen nodded. "Then you'll tell me what you can about the man that hired you. Where did you meet him? What does he look like?"

"We were just hanging out in front of a shop in Shinjuku when he approached us... he asked us if we wanted to make some easy money, We had NO IDEA you guys were... you know... with one of those... organizations. He's just a typical old man yakuza type. YOU would know... right? Grey hair, balding in front, kind of overweight..."

"Any discernible marks, like moles or scars? Some quirk in his mannerisms...?"

"Yeah. He has this long bullwhip he likes to threaten people with..."

"A bullwhip?" Kirishima's eyes widened.

The teen nodded. Kirishima turned away from the teen with a worried look on his face.

"You know who this is?" Mayeda asked.

"We turned away a bothersome person trying to gain entrance to Sion a couple of months ago. He returned later with a bullwhip. Suoh took him down, but he had a difficult time of it. We suspected the guy was hopped up on some kind of stimulant..."

"What? That REALLY happened...?! That story Suoh was telling at the bar—" Yamato stopped awkwardly, realizing he was referring to the same night they had played the trick on Kirishima.

Kirishima's mind was somewhere else though. "The break-ins are just a ruse. Suoh's been their real target this whole time. Damn it... which way did Suoh go?"

"North," Yamato said.

Kirishima turned to leave, but stopped when he felt a hand on his arm. "Wait..."

Yamato was looking at him with concern. "I heard you're supposed to be on vacation this week... but you did come here armed, right?"

Kirishima growled in frustration. Normally, he was the one who remained level-headed enough to think things through clearly. It irritated him that one of his subordinates had to do it for him. "No... I'm not armed," he conceded reluctantly.

Yamato reached into his sling and fumbled with something. He pulled out a black sheath and handed it to Kirishima. "Here. Strap this to your forearm..."

Kirishima pulled a slim knife out of the sheath and examined it. It looked wickedly sharp. He slid it back into its sheath and then pulled up his sleeve and strapped it to his arm. "Thank you..." he said.

_This is no time to be impulsive. Slow down and focus..._

"Mayeda, you come with me..."

"You can take Nakano too..." Yamato said. Kirishima glanced at the teen and then Yamato's injured arm before looking up and raising an eyebrow at him.

Yamato sighed and then walked over to the teen. He kicked out in a half-spin and took the teen down by striking the back of his legs. The teen landed on his butt with a grunt. Yamato knelt down and grinned at him. "He won't be going anywhere. We're going to hang out together and have a little chat about his 'life choices'..."

**. . . . .**

Kirishima, Mayeda, and Nakano headed north, stopping now and then to listen next to the warehouses' walls or to peer into any windows. It wasn't long before they came to a small intersection among the buildings.

Kirishima furrowed his brow and scanned the surroundings. "Mayeda, go right... Nakano, you keep going straight ahead. We'll keep in touch by texting. Do NOT confront them alone..." The other two grunted their responses and took off running. Kirishima turned left.

The street between the warehouses narrowed and then came to a dead end. Disappointed his path had ended so quickly, Kirishima turned back around and begin to retrace his steps, but he stopped when he heard a small sound coming from one of the warehouses.

He walked up to the wall and put his ear against it, but he could hear nothing. Just as he was about to back away, he heard a muffled snapping noise.

There wasn't an entrance from this side so he quickly made his way around the building and found the door. He put his ear up against the door and listened again.

_*Snap*_

Kirishima tried the doorknob and found that the door was not locked. He cursed to himself when the door made a creaking noise as he began opening it. He stopped and pulled up hard on the doorknob as he tried again, hoping this would help reduce the friction against the hinges. The trick worked and the door opened soundlessly.

He peered around the door and saw what appeared to be a disused front office inside. There was another door on the opposite side of the office, which was partially open. Kirishima peered through it. Though the lighting was faint, he could make out several pallets with wooden crates stacked upon them. He slipped through the door and made his way through the space of the warehouse, using the stacks of crates as cover.

This particular warehouse had two sections that converged at a right angle, making the building "L-shaped". As he carefully made his way to the opening of the second section, he heard a loud crack echo throughout the building.

_Bullwhip..._

He peered around the corner and saw two men standing next to a yellow crane. Another large man was slumped within the middle of it, his arms tied to either side of the metal frame. He was shirtless and there were red streaks running along his backside. All of them were positioned with their backs to Kirishima.

Kirishima ducked his head back around the corner.

_All right... I've found Suoh. Now I just need to get Mayeda and Nakano here..._

Kirishima started to reach for his phone, but he froze at the unmistakable sensation of a cold metal gun barrel being pressed against the back of his head.

A man's voice hissed in his ear. "If you so much as FLINCH, I won't hesitate to blow your brains out!"

**. . . . . **

**. .**

* * *

_"Julio... who the hell is Julio?!" I can hear you saying._

_He was the guy that had Kirishima on edge at the beginning of this story. Asami and Co. went to [South American country] to work out a trade deal. Julio was the second-in-command who took a strong dislike to Asami. _

_Suoh told the story of the whip guy he had to rough-up back in Chapter 7. _

_The teens were paid in yen. 10,000 comes out to a little more than US$80.00._


End file.
